Our roots lay in two important figures. The first is Father Pedro Arrupe, who founded the Jesuit Refugee Service in November 1980, urging the Society of Jesus to acknowledge the suffering humanity before them, and to deal with the (back then) 16 million refugees forced to leave their homeland and loved ones in search of peace. The second is Father Giovanni Fantola, who back in 1999 started hosting in an apartment in the neighbourhood of Roncafort, in Trento, the first refugees coming from Rome in search of a job and of a place in the Italian society. He accompanied them in the construction of an autonomous life, depriving himself of the most basic comforts.

 

They represent, for us, two dense and living legacies. Through our action they continue operating, in synergy with the Jesuit Fathers of Trento, the community of Villa sant’Ignazio, the local institutions and the local social private sector, the national headquarter in Rome, the other regional branches of Centro Astalli and the Jesuit Refugee Service, to produce projects and actions aimed at accompanying, serving and advocating for refugees living in Trentino.

 

Our headquarter is in Casetta Bianca, located in the complex of Villa sant’Ignazio in the Laste neighbourhood in Trento. It was renovated in 2005 and since then it has been a place of memory, hospitality, planning and operativity, a reference point for our interdisciplinary équipe, the volunteers and the supporters of the association.