Provincial meets Jesuit communities across Britain during annual visitation

February 9, 2026

The Provincial Superior of the Jesuits in Britain, Fr Peter Gallagher SJ, is midway through his annual visitation of Jesuit communities across the British Province.

From November 2025 to March 2026, he is visiting schools, chaplaincies, parishes, social ministries, and spirituality centres, taking time to meet Jesuits and lay colleagues, share in prayer, and reflect on the life and mission of each community.

The Provincial’s Apostolic Visitation is a centuries-old practice in the Society of Jesus, dating back to St Ignatius Loyola. It offers the Provincial an opportunity to spend time with Jesuit communities and those who share in their mission, to listen, encourage, and reflect together on how each place is living out its Ignatian identity and apostolic work.

Speaking during his recent visit to Donhead Preparatory School, Fr Peter said:

“We’re about halfway through now for this year’s visitations and I think they’re going quite well. On my side, it’s wonderful because I meet very many of the people who work with the Province, and it’s such a positive experience – there are so many good things happening, so much to be proud of, a lot of looking forward, enthusiastic planning. It’s a joy to be a part of that.”

Fr Peter’s visits began in early November at St Beuno’s Jesuit Spirituality Centre in North Wales, before continuing later that month to the Jesuit community in Manchester. In December he visited Birmingham, home to one of the largest Jesuit communities in the British Province.

A significant portion of the visitation in January focused on London, where Fr Peter spent time with several Jesuit communities serving a wide range of pastoral, educational, and social ministries. These included Brixton, Copleston, Southall, Mount Street, Stamford Hill, Clapham, and the Polish Jesuit community at Walm Lane. He also visited Jesuit schools in the capital, including St Ignatius College, Wimbledon College, and Donhead Preparatory School.

During his visit to Donhead, Fr Peter was joined by Andrew Johnson, Delegate for Education for the British Province. Together, they explored the school’s work on environmental projects and the Jesuit Pupil Profile, and joined students and staff for Mass.

Andrew Johnson said:

“We’ve had a fantastic morning at Donhead. We’ve met with a group of students, we talked about their work with environmental issues, we looked at their books, and we talked through the work they’ve been doing on the Jesuit Pupil Profile as well, and we’ve gathered together as a whole school for Mass.”

In the coming weeks, Fr Peter will continue his journey across Britain, visiting Jesuit communities in Oxford, the North East of England and Scotland, including Edinburgh and Glasgow, before concluding with a visit to Boscombe, home to older and retired Jesuits.

Throughout the visitation, Fr Peter will meet Jesuits and lay colleagues alike, join communities in prayer and Eucharist, and hold conversations about the life, challenges, and hopes of each place. Such visits are an important moment of connection between local works and the wider Society of Jesus, helping to strengthen shared mission in service of faith, justice, and reconciliation.

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