New Superior for Jesuits in English Canada
The Very Reverend Adolfo Nicolas, S.J., the Superior General of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), has appointed Fr. James Webb, S.J. as the Provincial Superior of the Jesuits in English Canada. He will succeed Fr. Jean-Marc Laporte S.J., who has served as the Provincial Superior since 2002. Fr. Webb's appointment will take effect July 31, 2008.
Fr. Webb, who is 63, was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia and spent his formative years in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He entered the Society of Jesus after graduating from St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish in 1964. After philosophy studies in Spokane, Washington, he worked for two years at Brebeuf College School in Toronto, before continuing studies in theology at Regis College in Toronto. He was ordained to the priesthood in Toronto in June 1973. From 1973-86, Fr. Webb worked in social ministry in Toronto, a ministry that included being a founding director of the Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Justice, Catholic New Times, the Taskforce on Corporate Responsibility, the South Riverdale Community Health Centre and the Canadian Alternative Investment Cooperative.
Fr. Jim Webb (right) and other jesuits on retreat
In 1986, Fr. Webb moved to Jamaica to continue social ministry, first based at St. Peter Claver Church in Kingston and more recently at St. Theresa's Church in Annotto Bay. From 1997 to 2006 he was the Regional Superior of the Jesuits in Jamaica. In 1998 he became the Chairman of the Board of Management of Campion College, Jamaica's leading academic high school. He also chairs the Justice Commission of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston, the St. Mary Rural Development Project and is the Board Secretary of Citizens Action For Free and Fair Elections, of which he was a founding director.
The Jesuits, an order of priests and brothers in the Roman Catholic Church, have worked in Canada for more than 400 years. They have responsibility for the direction of schools, churches, retreat houses and a variety of social ministries that span from St. John's, Newfoundland to Vancouver, British Colombia. There are currently 174 Jesuits in English Canada.
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