The 15th Josefa Segovia Chair Course, organised by the International Teresian-Sanjuanist Centre (CITeS) and the Teresian Association (IT), brought together a range of experts from 13 to 15 March 2026. The theme of the event was: ‘Loving with Passion and Compassion’.
The Josefa Segovia Chair brought together doctors of education, theology and psychology, as well as professionals from various fields, to discuss and address questions regarding compassion, its limits, whether compassion without self-pity is possible, and when it can be considered obsessive or harmonious, amongst other topics.
The director of CITeS, Jercy Naawojowski, and the academic director of the Josefa Segovia Chair, Antonia Martín, welcomed all participants, both those attending in person and those joining online. They also expressed their gratitude for the work of the previous director, Carmen Azaústre, and introduced the new team comprising M.ª Jesús González Garmendia, M.ª Dolores Jiménez Ruiz y Juan Carlos Torre Puente.
Love, passion and compassion
Each speaker then presented their respective topics. In his talk “Compassionate Mystics”, Fernando Millán, PhD in Theology from the Pontifical University of Comillas, emphasised that mysticism and compassion are mutually dependent. He also mentioned Josefa Segovia and how the first director of the IT dedicated herself to the victims of history.
Under the title “What if passion were the way? Uncompromising spirituality in the light of the Passion of Jesus”, María José Schultz Montalbetti, PhD in Theology from the University of Deusto, rediscovered the source of the passion of Jesus of Nazareth.
Joaquim Azevedo, PhD in Educational Sciences from the Portuguese Catholic University, spoke about his socio-educational project Arco Maior, in his presentation entitled: “The pedagogy of love: an ethical and political choice of resistance”.
The final presentation was given by Antonia Martín, PhD in Psychology from the Pontifical University of Comillas, who addressed the following question: “Does compassion have limits?” To this end, she explained what compassion is, but also what it is not, as well as common misconceptions regarding self-compassion.
Workshops and testimonials
In parallel, several simultaneous workshops were held to explore, through practical experience, the nuances of passionate and compassionate love. There was also a panel discussion featuring testimonials from professionals who carry out their work with “conscious passion and compassion”.
At the closing ceremony of the 15th Josefa Segovia Chair Course, the director of the IT in Spain, Mª del Carmen Aragonés, gave a closing address and called for education in compassion.
The full article can be read on the IT in Spain news website.
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