(ZENIT News / Lisbon, 12.13.2025).- In 2024, the Society of Jesus in Portugal initiated a process of listening to young people, the conclusions of which are presented in the Report «Listening to Accompany: A Pastoral Look at the Young Adult Generation.» This Report seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the aspirations, challenges, and hopes of young people between the ages of 25 and 35, many of whom are alumni of Jesuit schools or have participated in Jesuit university centers and camps.
The conclusions point to the need for a pastoral approach that listens, welcomes, and accompanies authentically, offering relevant and inclusive proposals adapted to the rhythms and challenges of daily life. «There is an unequivocal desire in this generation to live a mature, incarnate, and committed faith. The Church is called to accompany them with listening, freedom, and creativity,» the Report concludes.
The project arose from the intuition of the Youth and Vocation Ministry Team (PAJUV) — then composed of Jesuit priests Duarte Rosado, Miguel Pedro Melo, and Samuel Beirão, and the married couple Isabel and João Sousa Guedes –, that a significant portion of this generation was experiencing a certain disconnection from the available pastoral programs. The need to listen thus became the starting point of a synodal and participatory journey.
«We believe that many young adults want to integrate faith into their daily lives, but they don’t find spaces where they can experience it naturally. This study aimed to listen to them in order to provide them with better support,» explains Isabel Sousa Guedes, head of the team that conducted the study.
A National Listening Process
The research included 95 participants (out of a total of 162 registered), through 24 online group interviews and questionnaires, which brought together young people from Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra, Braga, and other cities, as well as Portuguese living abroad. The respondents are mostly young workers who, having had a relationship with the Society of Jesus and the Church in their youth, now face difficulties in continuing that experience.
The sample was organized into five representative profiles of different life situations (single, couples, with or without children, practicing or non-practicing), which allowed for an in-depth understanding of the diversity of this generation.
Key Findings
The study reveals a happy, engaged, and relational generation that deeply values community and interpersonal relationships — family, friendship, and faith — but feels a lack of appropriate spaces for belonging at their stage of life. Among the main difficulties they experience are lack of time, fatigue, and the inadequacy of some pastoral approaches to the reality of young workers and young families.
The participants expressed the desire to:
- Integrate faith and daily life, uniting spirituality, profession and family;
- Have access to personalized spiritual guidance;
- Offer flexible and innovative formats, including online activities, podcasts, and short meetings;
- Find community spaces and options for families (adapted Masses, childcare, short retreats);
- And maintain a connection to faith and community even in the context of migration.
A Contribution to Youth and Vocational Pastoral Care
The team hopes the study will serve as a basis for new pastoral experiences within the Ignatian universe — university centers, schools, parishes, and projects like Brotéria — and inspire other pastoral agents to renew their forms of presence among young adults.
The full report, «Listening to Accompany,» is available here.
