Welcome, openness and a new residential Jesuit project for young people – Dar Manwel Magri (DMM)

It has become a second home to so many. Dar Manwel Magri (DMM), the Jesuit residence situated next door to the University of Malta, is constantly sought after by students and other young people who come there to meet, study, socialise, prepare group work, cook and relax.

Accompaniment of young people is one of the universal apostolic preferences of the Jesuits, and during his visit to Malta last weekend, Jesuit Superior General Fr Arturo Sosa visited Dar Manwel Magri, the Jesuit community whose home it is and the students there, to learn more about the heart and energy that bring this place to life.

A few years ago a decision was taken by the Jesuits to refurbish Dar Manwel Magri’s ground floor to create a dedicated space where students feel welcome and at home. The project has been successful. The house is full of life, and it is not simply transient. Many young adults have asked to join CLC, communities of young adults which offer long-term accompaniment and formation to their members, and several of these groups meet at Dar Manwel Magri for their weekly meetings.

Students find the house very welcoming, their home away from home, and many have become involved in participating in the work of the Jesuits and the lay Chaplaincy team. The house is also used for live-ins, particularly for those groups receiving formation for voluntary work, and for community-living experiences to prepare for the Easter liturgies.

“One of our biggest priorities at DMM and at the University Chaplaincy is constant presence. We create a space where young people feel welcome and totally comfortable. And with time we find that many young people approach us for any support or accompaniment they might be looking for,” explains Fr Patrick Magro SJ.

A long-term residential experience for young people – the first of its kind in Malta

Besides its ongoing daily availability to young people, a new project has just been launched at DMM. “For a long time we have dreamt of being able to offer a long-term community residential experience for young people who are searching for a meaningful way forward in their lives. There is nothing of this kind in Malta. At the moment we have the first group of six young people participating in this month-long pilot project,” Fr Patrick explained to Fr General as he sat with the team who help to run the house and the residential project.

Part of the first floor was refurbished and converted into a homely space where young adults can live together and with the Jesuit community, and while they continue with their work and studies they will also receive formation in leadership and discernment. “It is going even better than we expected and we are very excited to see it unfold,” he said.

Fr Sosa was very happy to sit and spend time with the young people participating in the new project, and listened to them as they shared their experience so far.

Annabel Sant, one of the young people living there, shared her experience meeting Fr General. “Before meeting Fr. Arturo, I’d always seen his picture in Jesuit houses – I imagined he would be super serious and strict! Anxious about what to say upon meeting him, I was surprised to find him completely different.

Fr. Arturo, another jolly Jesuit, was incredibly down-to-earth. He asked about our experiences, how we practiced our faith and how living in community has been helping us grow spiritually. I was surprised by his interest in our jobs and sibling situation. He even asked about our summer service trips. He told us about his experience in a big family and their reaction to his joining the society of Jesus 58 years ago.”

Dar Manwel Magri is located just outside the University of Malta’s side gate. The Jesuit community there is made up of Fr Patrick Magro SJ, Fr Oliver Borg Olivier SJ, Fr Edgar Busuttil SJ, Fr Christopher Vella SJ and Fr Rob Rizzo SJ who is residing there for a few months until he re-commences his studies following his Ordination some weeks ago.

View gallery of Fr General’s visit to Dar Manwel Magri where he met the resident Jesuit Community, the University Chaplaincy team and the students participating in the residential project: