On Sunday November 13th none of us went to his own parish, we remained at the novitiate to celebrate the feast of our patron Saint Stanislao Kostka.

He was a young Polish youth from a noble family who pursued his deep desire to give himself completely to Christ through the Society of Jesus. His journey started from the college of the Jesuits in Vienna, travelling through Germany where Pietro Canisio guided him to Rome. Here in 1567, at the age of 17, he was accepted in novitiate, but died the year after.

His strong will and courage was also highlighted by Fr. Josef Briffa, a young Maltese Jesuit, who celebrated Mass in our chapel, on his return to Genoa where he lived as a novice fourteen years ago. There is a very fine line which separates stubbornness and determination but the results are very different: the first attitude leads you to closure and rigidity, the second one develops and is nourished through hearing and a strong faith.

After Mass we had lunch together with other Jesuits living in Genoa and after a little break we had a meeting with Fr. Josef to get to know him a little better. He told us that he will soon be defending his PhD thesis in Archeology and will then proceed to teach at Pontificial Biblical Institute. But his life is not just about studying, it is about being of service to the Church. Through his life he looks to reconcile being a Jesuit priest with studies of a scientific nature, made up of manuscripts, documents, hypothesis and a high level of patience. This mission is to train the trainers, a challenge which does not only consist of giving information, but above all to provide instruments, examples and a style. This forms part of his intellectual pastoral work, which is not only aimed at students but also to those who will be taught by these students, not to mention the teachers, researchers, volunteers and all those who cross the path of an archaeologist.

How can you put everything together? “With your own life” Fr. Josef replies: living your journeys, studies, courses with the essential time for prayer and relationship.

You need a strong will and freedom to complete a project, just how St Stanislao teaches us.