In six days, SMA Provincials and Districts Superiors will travel from their corners of the world, gather in one room, and make decisions that will shape the Society for years to come. That moment arrives on Monday, May 18, and it is the Plenary Council 2026.

In fact, the journey has already begun. The Superior General and the Vicar General are, as of today, already on ground in Nigeria, the host country. So, the gathering is not just approaching, it is happening.

To that end, the host Unit has carefully prepared for the arrival of members of the Plenary Council. From the moment the first participants landed, they were not alone. Two friends of SMA are stationed at the airport, ready to assist with immigration procedures and guide members through the bustle of arrival halls and queues. It is a small gesture, perhaps, but anyone who has landed in a more or less unfamiliar country, tired from a long journey, knows exactly what it means to find a face waiting. And the Province of Nigeria is providing that face.

This is Nigeria doing what Nigerians do: welcoming with their whole heart. The warmth, the attentiveness, the quiet pride of a province that wants this gathering to begin well, is visible from the first handshake at the gate. The Nigerian Province is not simply receiving its guests. It is embracing them.

And yet, behind the warmth of the welcome lies the weight of the week ahead. These are not just guests arriving for a visit. They are decision-makers, gathering for one of the most significant moments in the Society’s calendar.

The Plenary Council is, alongside the General Assembly, one of the Society’s principal forums for discussion and decision-making. It does not happen often, and when it does, it matters. As provided in the Constitutions and Laws (Art. 104, § 2) of the Society, the “Plenary Council meets at least three times during a mandate and is convoked by the Superior General”, bringing together representatives of the Society to reflect and decide on important matters affecting its life and mission.

The Constitutions and Laws describe the Plenary Council as:

“an international and representative forum of discussion, evaluation and decision, where solidarity and co-operation is realised for the common good of the Society.” (Art. 98)

So what is actually going to happen?

That is the question on everyone’s lips right now. According to the Society’s Constitutions and Laws (Art. 102), the Council may take up questions as significant as whether to explore opening a new Delegation, whether to launch a mission or establish a presence in a country where the Society has never worked before, or approving key financial orientations that sustain the life and activities of the Generalate. These are not small matters, they touch on where the Society is heading, who it will serve, and what it will look like in the years ahead.

What proposals will be presented, what discussions will take shape, and what conclusions may emerge will only become clear once the Council opens on Monday. For now, one thing is certain: across the Society, attention is turning toward this gathering.

And it begins in six days.

Brice Ulrich AFFERI