Jesuit Bulletin 2009
From the Provincial
Dear Friends
We Jesuits in English Canada have much to be thankful for, not the least for you who encourage and support us, collaborate with us and are generous to us.
We give thanks too to our Golden Jubilarians, Brothers Michael Martin and Paul Baker, and Fathers Mike O’Donnell, Michael Coutts, Bernie Carroll, Jack Costello, David Eley, Gerard Fokke, Larry Kroker, John Legge, Dave Norris, Charlie Pottie and Chris Rupert. Together, they have given 650 years of service to God and the Church.
There have been many Jesuit changes over the past year, the move of our offices from Bay Street to Queen’s Park Crescent, the move of our provincial residence from High Park to St. Jamestown, our establishment, with the French Canadian province, of a new joint novitiate in Montreal, the ordination of two priests (Fathers Dan Kelly and Elton Fernandes) and two deacons (John Meehan and Teo Ugaban), and the pending ordination to the priesthood of Jeff Burwell in Winnipeg in June; three men, Greg Kennedy, Paul Robson and Henk van Meijel taking their first vows; the entry of four new novices, Edmund Lo, John O’Brien, Santiago Rodriguez and Artur Suski. It has been an exciting year, one filled with growth and hope.
We, like you, have also been challenged by the collapse of investment income. The funds we depend on for the support of senior Jesuits and the training of our younger Jesuits have eroded, challenging us to live more frugally and to rely ever more on the generosity of our friends.
Little of what we do could take place without your help, financial and spiritual. Thank you for sharing your lives with us, for sharing our mission.
Sincerely,
Jim Webb, S.J.
Provincial Superior
Jesuits in English Canada
From the Directors
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Dear Friends,
Finally we are settled into our new offices at 43 Queen’s Park Crescent East, situated between St. Joseph St. and Wellesley St.We hope that they are more convenient for everybody, especially those who drop in to obtain perpetual cards and Mass cards. The Jesuit Development Office is on the first floor of the building which should make it easier for all involved.
Beside the new offices, we also have a new Provincial Superior for the Jesuits in English Canada, Fr. Jim Webb, S.J. Last year in the Bulletin 2008, we introduced Fr.Webb and our new Superior General in Rome, Fr. Adolphe Nicolás, S.J. Both have been hard at work in their new positions as both jobs have a very steep learning curve involved with them. Please keep them both in your prayers.
Last September, we sent out a small prayer card with the Prayer for Generosity and The Examen of Consciousness, which was designed to fit into either a purse or a wallet.We had many complimentary responses from people—saying what a wonderful idea and saying thank you for the opportunity “to stop in my busy schedule and spend a few moments seeing where I have encountered Christ Jesus.”We were very pleased to hear from so many people that they were obtaining graces from the Lord with this small gift. We even had requests for extra copies.
This particular Jesuit Bulletin will be the last one produced by the Jesuit Development Office. From now on, the Bulletin will be coordinated by our Communication Officer, Erica Zlomislic.We have spoken to her and there will be a section added for the Jesuit Development Office to keep you up to date on what we are doing. Barbara and I thank you very much for your support of the Jesuit Bulletin over the years and we look forward to seeing a new format for it. God bless you and be with you in all that you do.
Sincerely in Christ Jesus,
Fr. J.Winston Rye, S.J.
Director
Gratefully,
Barbara DeCarlo
Director - Administration
Moving Beyond the Frontiers of Language and Culture
By Erik Oland, s.j.
On August 23, 2008 the Jesuits of English and French Canada opened a joint bilingual novitiate on Gatineau Avenue in the Côte-des-Neiges district of Montréal. The project is the fruit of a more intentional collaboration between the two provinces over the past few years. More globally the new novitiate is a response to an invitation from the highest levels of the Society of Jesus to go beyond frontiers and beyond the closed systems that can create obstacles to the essentially international and intercultural nature of the Jesuit order. The call to move beyond frontiers was reiterated recently by the General Congregation 35 (GC 35), which elected Father Adolfo Nicolás, a Spanish Jesuit, who has spent most of his Jesuit life in Japan. Father Nicolás incarnates the Society’s option for open frontiers through his experience as a European Jesuit serving in Asia, much like his predecessor, Pedro Arrupe. This desire is expressed in terms of how one is invited to change and grow as the result of open encounters with those who are fundamentally different. As well, the recently published documents of GC 35 remind us of the primacy of the universal mission of the Society:
This tradition of Jesuits building bridges across barriers becomes crucial in the context of today’s world. We become able to bridge the divisions of a fragmented world only if we are united by the love of Christ our Lord, by personal bonds like those that linked Francis Xavier and Ignatius across the seas, and by the obedience that sends each one of us in mission to any part of the world. (Decree 3 of the 35th General Congregation 2008, paragraph 17)
How to imagine a novitiate in the 21st century?
Decree 2 from General Congregation 35 speaks of ‘a fire that kindles other fires’; an expression borrowed from Saint Alberto Hurtado (Chilean Jesuit and champion of workers) canonized in 2005.With reference to Luke 12, 49, the decree suggests that with this ‘fire’ we are called to enflame all things with and for the love of God. It is a phrase that has become a bit of a catch word for our new novitiate on Gatineau Avenue, Montréal. Through their diverse cultural experiences, ways and styles, they are called to bear witness to what ‘church’ means for the 21st century, especially within the multicultural diversity of our own country. Indeed, more and more our candidates come from immigrant roots and they bring with them their own understandings of culture and church. Decree 2 speaks of the way that we are to understand our work together in the Society of Jesus, no matter our cultural roots: “Our life together testifies to our friendship in the Lord, a sharing of faith and life together, above all in the celebration of the Eucharist. Following Jesus together acts as a pointer to the disciples en mouvement with their Lord. Jesuit identity and Jesuit mission are linked by community.” (par. 19) The goal of our Jesuit life is just to become friends in the Lord by gathering together around the Eucharist and, following the example of Ignatius Loyola, to be sent to ‘set the world on fire’ (‘ite inflamate omnia’). The same decree ends with an evocation of the tension that each Jesuit needs to live out each and every day:
There are new challenges to this [our Jesuit] vocation today. We live our identity as companions of Jesus in the context where multiple images, the innumerable faces of a fragmented culture, compete for our attention. They seep into us, take root in the fertile soil of our natural desires, and fill us with sensations that flow through and take control of our feelings and decisions without our awareness. But we know and proclaim one image, Jesus Christ, true image of humanity, who, when we contemplate him, becomes flesh in us, healing our inner brokenness, and making us whole as persons, as communities, and as an apostolic body dedicated to Christ’s mission. (GC 35, Decree 2, n. 26)
We need to inculcate early in formation the Jesuit way of facing these contemporary challenges.With the novitiate begins the movement of integrating into the body of the Society and to appreciate both the national and international dimensions of her mission, especially with regard to the radical openness to a world that is more and more interdependent culturally. The new general, Father Nicolás, stresses the need to establish bonds of cooperation and collaboration between provinces and to develop early a deep cultural sensitivity.
How is it that Canada is the first country in the Society of Jesus to offer an intentionally bilingual novitiate?
The decrease of vocations to the religious life has been long apparent. In the early 90s, the Jesuits in English Canada decided to move the Guelph novi-tiate to Saint Paul, Minnesota in response to smaller numbers of vocations. The project was a success and lasted from 1994 to 2008. Due to recent restructuring in the U.S. Jesuit provinces, English Canada needed to discern its own future and decide how to respond to the shifts south of the border. In short order, the provincials of the two Canadian provinces (French and English) moved to discuss and discern the possibility of a common novitiate. From the beginning both provinces were aware of the challenges with regard to language, culture, and the importance of giving the novices a viable and stable community.
Functioning in two languages
The historic tension of the ‘two solitudes’ that comprise this country has existed between the two Canadian Jesuit provinces as much as in civil society. That said, there has been a significant ‘rapprochement’ between the two provinces over the past few years at the level of inter-provincial meetings. More recently, for example, the archives of the two provinces have been united under one roof at the Maison Bellarmin in Montréal. For the novice, in addition to becoming comfortable living in a multicultural context, he should be at ease in a bilingual dynamic. Hence, the new novitiate has developed a policy of fraternal coexistence in the two languages. The language policy or ‘way of functioning’ in the two languages continues to evolve but a few basic tenets act as reminders. Some examples of the basic tenets are that each novice is directed individually and shares his faith at community gatherings in the language of his choice. Liturgical gatherings alternate between French and English (usually every other week).Weekly tutoring is also available according to the proficiency level of each novice.
Preparing and sorting out the kitchen in the new novitiate.
Is it all working? After close to a year of experimentation we can say that the language aspect of the Novitiate is working well and indeed fostering a deep sense of the international charism of the Society. In fact, language, cultural, and ecclesial differences are tending to be more of a help to vocational growth than a hindrance.
Some testimonials from first-year novices
The six novices of the first year come from many corners of the country – from British Columbia to the Gaspé Peninsula. They range from age 20 to age 43. They also come from many different cultural backgrounds: Latin-American, Polish, Chinese, Québécois, Anglo- Canadian.What follows are a few comments from some of the novices themselves regarding what has drawn them to the Society and what they think of a bilingual novitiate:
Artur Suski, age 23, who went to school in French immersion in Ontario, speaks of the openmindedness of the Jesuits: “They are devoted and full of zeal to serving Christ among the poor, the abandoned, the excluded, non-Christians, but also among Christians who have had no faith formation.” Artur is also interested in the Québécois culture: “It’s possible to meet many Jesuits of the francophone province and to come to know the culture better through their apostolates and their diverse ministries.”
Santiago Rodriguez, age 26 and born in Colombia, thinks that the novitiate opens for him the possibilities of working for faith and justice. “Jesuit is a man for others, who sees and loves the world like Jesus.” He finds that the bilingual novitiate “is a good challenge for me because it helps me to be open to the needs of others… to be patient with myself. This experience serves as a lesson in tolerance and perseverence.”
Ivon Bellavance, Québécois and aged 43, writes: “Initially I met the Jesuits through the Arts. Since then, I have discovered their great liberty to speak of God always in a renewed way, sometimes without even naming Him… The bilingual novitiate is a bonus because not only do we progress in a second language but also we learn the cultural background of the other. This prepares us to live with a greater sense of inculturation, in the manner of Jesuits on mission. To learn to have confidence in the other helps us to grow beyond our own walls and frontiers.”
Jesuit Novitiate, Pedro Arrupe House, Gatineau Avenue, Montréal.
John O’Brien, age 32, remarks: “In Rome [I] met Jesuits from many different countries. I was impressed by what they seemed to have in common: a fundamental humility, a dedication to others, and a profundity of vision. All three ingredients, I discovered, form part of the character of a man who follows St. Ignatius to serve Christ as a member of his society. Right now in the Jesuit novitiate, we are experiencing a time of testing and personal growth. The novitiate is already a “school of love”, and so the bilingualism naturally fits the bill. The steady diet of two-language conferences and house meetings helps us learn the various ways one can express ideas and concepts. During a “French week” I am challenged to reflect on the substance of what I want to say, it helps avoid a lot of mindless chatter!
Conclusion
“To grow beyond our own walls and frontiers,” to quote novice Ivon Bellavance, speaks to the Jesuit desire to form a spiritually affective and effective corps in service of the Church as companions of Jesus. It is a personal and interior journey that is at the same time active and fully inserted in the world. A Jesuit community has existed on Gatineau Avenue for some 40 years under the name of Pedro Arrupe in honour of the former Jesuit Superior General who guided the Society during the exciting and challenging years following the Second Vatican Council. Father Arrupe, like our new General Father Nicolás, was a Spaniard who lived much of his Jesuit life in Japan. He continues to inspire us and the new novitiate has decided to keep the house under his patronage. And so, to our patron, the last word:
Jesus Christ wants no half-measure companions under his standard. From there the rest can be deduced… [that] this companion is a man who, through the love of Christ, is totally committed to the standard of the Cross in the struggle for faith, and for the struggle for justice that faith demands. This is not a violent struggle but one of love and charity. (Pedro Arrupe : Itinéraire d’un jésuite. entretiens avec Jean-Claude Dietsch, s.j. Vendôme 1982. p. 56 translation, Oland)
Jesuits in Ministry
Lloyd Baugh, S.J.
Lloyd Baugh with his communications students in Rome.
Lloyd Baugh has been missioned to the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome since 1984, the year of his ordination, first as a graduate student and since 1990, as a teacher. His areas of teaching, research and publication include fundamental theology, spirituality, film studies and the complex and rich interface between theology and cinema. His book, Jesus and Christ–Figures in Film, has become a classical reference work in the field.
At the Gregorian, Lloyd teaches in Italian, but his students, who come from every corner of the globe, can do exams and theses in English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese. The student population of 3000 bring to their courses a varied mix of life experiences and cultural and ecclesial traditions; that and the University’s interdisciplinary approach to studies make for a rich academic and religious experience.
Typical of a professor at “the Greg,” Lloyd has been called on by the Vatican to serve as advisor in the Pontifical Commissions of Culture and Social Communications. He served on the committee that in 1996 prepared the Vatican “Oscars,” a list of the top 45 films of Christian, religious and cultural significance.
As part of the Gregorian’s international outreach, Lloyd teaches regularly in Jesuit and other universities outside of Rome: Campion College in Regina, Holy Cross, Loyola-Marymount and Notre Dame in the USA, Heythrop College in London, the Ateneo de Manila in the Philippines and the Collège St. Michel in Madagascar.
Lloyd considers sacramental ministry an essential part of his mission. Several years ago, to serve the growing number of lay students at the Gregorian, Lloyd developed a campus ministry program, now an integral part of the University. He continues to participate in that program, presiding at the Eucharist and the sacrament of Reconciliation and doing spiritual direction and weekend and Holy Week Ignatian retreats.
Lloyd Baugh Center: a weekend retreat with young families.
Lloyd is also active in traditional parish ministry, both in Rome, directing weekend spiritual dynamics with a group of married couples from a suburban parish, and in Toronto, where, during the summers, he helps out in Our Lady of Lourdes parish. “That contact with Canada and the Jesuits of my home province,” he says, “is crucial to who I am, how I am and what I do in Rome.”
Engaging Hearts and Minds
The Jesuit Forum for Social Faith and Justice
By Peter Bisson, S.J.
Jesuit Forum Team, from right: Fr. Bill Ryan, S.J., Anne-Marie Jackson and Fr. Peter Bisson, S.J.
Participants at our recent workshop, Engaging the Signs of the Times in the Current Economic Crisis, were surprised to have moved from paralysis and fear to hope and imagination, surprised to have discovered possibilities for newness in the midst of the current crisis.
The Forum process attempts to find some meaning in our confused and uncertain times. The goal is to counteract the growing privatization of people’s faith and deepest convictions. The authentic dialogue we are promoting fosters deep listening and a way to find common bonds and action. It turns problem-solving on its head and focuses on meaning and motivation.
We will be organizing various types of meetings and events and use our process to motivate people on the major global issues of our time.
What we do. The Jesuit Forum for Social Faith and Justice tries to empower people to build a more just world through the practice of social discernment. In guided group conversations or forums, this way of listening to one another not only taps into people’s minds, but also into their hearts—their experience and their feelings—as important information about the world and what it means. This frees people’s imaginations and hopes, leads to new ways of seeing things and making decisions, and empowers their commitment to build a better world together. We are like the fish in the cartoon, ready to nibble the big toe of sleeper to wake him up!
Who we work with. Since October 2007 the Forum has held or prepared many small forums with leaders and decision-makers among university students, high school teachers, social justice and health workers, education consultants, and with Jesuit apostolates.
We are slowly breaking into the corridors of power with the confident expectation we will soon be leading forums with leaders in these sectors. Since our approach is new and somewhat counter-cultural, we spend substantial time meeting with very busy senior administrators in health-care, education, labour, business, politics and communications, etc., acquainting them with our way of proceeding. To date all our contacts have appreciated the significant value of what we are trying to do.
Who we are. The Jesuit Forum is a team of three people: Fr. Bill Ryan, S.J., Anne-Marie Jackson and Fr. Peter Bisson, S.J.We are housed at Loretto College, 70 St. Mary Street, on the University of Toronto campus. Come and see us some time!
100th Anniversary for St. Ignatius Parish
Provincial Fr. Jim Webb, S.J.,
Anniversary Celebration
Associate Pastor the late
Fr. Brian Massie, S.J.
March 21, 1943 – May 3, 2009
At the turn of the twentieth century the Jesuits in Canada expanded their parish ministry to Western Canada. The influx of Irish and Eastern Europeans into Winnipeg increased the demand for more parishes. National Churches were begun for the Eastern Europeans, however, Archbishop Adelard Langevin, O.M.I, was hesitant to open more English-speaking parishes. The Archbishop was confronted with a petition in December 1906 asking for new English-speaking parishes staffed by English-speaking or Irish clergy. Although Langevin was open to this request, he was slow to respond, so a new petition was presented in April of 1907 requesting a parish for the Fort Rouge area. The Archbishop negotiated with the Jesuit Provincial, Fr. Edouard Lecompte, S.J., in Montréal and an agreement was reached. The Archbishop informed the Catholics of Fort Rouge and Fr. Lewis Drummond, S.J., from St. Boniface College, was assigned to begin this ministry.
The first Mass, celebrated on February 16, 1908, took place in a small rented store at 109 Osborne Street. By April, this facility was too small so two lots were bought at the corner of McMillan and Nassau Streets and a former wooden Baptist Church building, which had been purchased, was moved to the site. On May 10, 1908, this new church was blessed by Fr. Jacques Dugas, S.J., the Rector of St. Boniface College. In December 1908, a rectory was purchased at 476 McMillan Avenue.
Pastor: Fr. Gerald McDougall, S.J.
In the summer of 1909, the parishioners took an option on a block of property bounded by Stafford, Corydon, Jessie and present-day Harrow Streets. Two years later, they decided to build the basement only of a new church which would be used for Mass until they could afford to complete the structure. The basement was completed in early 1912. A school was part of the plan and it opened in January 1912 with nineteen students and two Holy Names Sisters as teachers.
In 1928, it was decided to complete the church structure and a new school. The new gothic church was ready for use on February 10, 1929. The dedication took place on Sunday, October 6, 1929.
Out of the original boundaries of St. Ignatius Parish, two new parishes were begun, Our Lady of Victory in 1946 and St. John Brebeuf Parish in 1955. In 1956, the present-day lay-out of the site at St. Ignatius was devised and the overall plan was begun to be put into place. This configuration has continued until today. The parish presently has some 2500 registered families and about 50 parish groups and activities.
The 100th anniversary is a time to recall the hardships and the blessings and to realize the seeds planted in the past are now being reaped. Congratulations to the parish and the parishioners who have worked so hard to build the family of St. Ignatius Parish community.
Year in Review
Fr. Jack O’Brien, S.J. greets well-wishers to say goodbye as he leaves his position as director of Manresa Jesuit Spiritual Renewal Centre.
Three new Jesuits took first vows in August 2008 at St. Paul, Minnesota: Paul Robson, S.J., Greg Kennedy, S.J. and Henk van Meijel, S.J.
Celebrating the Eucharist and our Jubilarians on the feast day of Saint Ignatius of Loyola July 31, 2008.
Deacon John D. Meehan, S.J. Deacon Teofilo C. Ugaban, S.J. Deacon Michael F. Davidson, S.J. Rev. James Webb, S.J. (Provincial Jesuits in English Canada), Most Rev. Richard Grecco, D.D. Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto, Rev. Elton Fernandes, S.J., New Priest Deacon Rohan G. Tulloch, S.J., Rev. Joseph Schner, S.J. (Acting Rector & President of Regis College), Rev. Peter McIsaac, S.J. (Regional Superior Jamaica), Rev. Luciano Morra, S.J. (Socius CHN)
Final Vows
Fr. Alan J. Fogarty, S.J. pronounced his final vows before Fr. Brian Massie, S.J., Superior of the Jesuits in Winnipeg in Murray Hall at St. Paul’s High School. The student body was in attendance for this special ceremony as was Winnipeg Archbishop James Weisgerber, shown above with the concelebrants of the Mass.
Fr. D. Erik Oland, s.j. pronounced his final vows July 19, 2008 at the Loyola House Chapel, Guelph, Ontario.
Fr. Philip A. Chircop, S.J. pronounced his final vows September 19, 2008 before Fr. Jim Webb, S.J. at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Toronto, Ontario
Publications
Benjamin Fiore, S.J. The Pastoral Epistles: First Timothy, Second Timothy, Titus
This book is a commentary on the Pastoral Epistles that includes an introduction, the historical situation and the “hortatory strategy.” These particular letters help us to understand the earliest church.
Joseph Plevnik, S.J. Paul and the End Time? Paulist Press.
“This book presents Paul’s thought and scholarly debate on the death of Christ, the coming of Christ, the lordship of Christ, the end-time resurrection, the transformation and interim existence, and being with Christ.” – from the preface
Monty Williams, S.J. The Gift of Spiritual Intimacy: Following the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius
This book is a step-by-step guide for those who wish to experience the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola and can be used by individuals or groups, at home or in retreat, in academic and parish settings.
In Memory of Dan Byrne Jesuit brother and friend 1923-2006
Congratulations
JESUIT COMMUNICATION PROJECT: 25 YEARS
Fr. John Pungente, S.J.,
Director and host of Beyond the Screen
1804 – 77 St. Clair Avenue East,
Toronto, Ontario M4T 1M5
Phone: 416.920.3286
Fax: 416.920.8254
E-mail: pungente@sympatico.ca
Web:http://interact.uoregon.edu/
MediaLit/JCP/Index.html or beyondthescreen.com
A New Father General
Fr. Kolvenbach resigns, Fr. Nicolás elected
By Gilles Mongeau, S.J.
Fr. Nicolás, S.J. (left) and Fr. Kolvenbach, S.J. with St. Peter’s in the background.
The role of the General Superior of the Society of Jesus is best expressed in the informal title he is given by most Jesuits: Father General. Saint Ignatius wanted the Superior General to tend to the preservation and growth of the Society, to be a source of life for its members and to call forth from them its best fruits and graces for mission. The ministry of the Superior General of the Society of Jesus is an exercise of fatherly care for the whole.
When the Jesuits elected Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach to be the general superior over the Society’s then roughly 26,000 members, on September 13th, 1983, they knew they needed a man who could build bridges, someone who could heal relations between the Society and the Pope. In the year following Father Arrupe’s illness in 1981, Jesuits were surprised to discover how far these relations had deteriorated, when Pope John Paul II appointed a Delegate to lead the Society instead of accepting the Vicar General appointed by Father Arrupe. Though they accepted the Pope’s decision in the spirit of Jesuit obedience, they could not ignore the painful reality that a rift had developed in one of the key relationships that marks the Society of Jesus.
It has been Father Kolvenbach’s genius to slowly, patiently and humbly renew these relations. After nearly twenty-five years as general superior, he asked to be relieved of his duties, due to his awareness of failing personal energies (he will turn 80 very soon) and out of a desire to refresh the leadership of the Society with new ideas and new inspirations, or in words inspired by Saint Ignatius, with “a new devotion” and “new spiritual movements.”
When the members of the 35th General Congregation accepted his resignation, they expressed the Society’s gratitude for his loving care in difficult times: “We are most especially grateful to you for the way in which you governed the Society following the difficult years after 1981. Since then, you have known how to navigate the Society with serenity, recognizing how to balance fidelity to the Church with fidelity to our way of proceeding as expressed in our Constitutions and the most recent General Congregations.”
The new Father General with some of the members of General Congregation 35.
This gratitude was matched by that of Pope Benedict XVI who praised Father Kolvenbach on many occasions during the past year, especially in his very generous letter of 18th January: “I would like to direct my thoughts of gratitude in the first place to you, dear and venerated Father Superior General, A New Father General Fr. Kolvenbach resigns, Fr. Nicolás elected By Gilles Mongeau, S.J. Fr. Nicolás, S.J. (left) and Fr. Kolvenbach, S.J. with St. Peter’s in the background. Jesuit Bulletin • 2008 5 who since 1983 has guided the Society of Jesus in an enlightened, wise, and prudent manner, seeking in every way to maintain it in the channel of its founding charism. For objective reasons, you have at various times asked to be relieved of so heavy a post, assumed with a great sense of responsibility at a moment in your Order’s history which was not easy. I express to you my most heartfelt gratitude for the service you have rendered to the Society of Jesus and, more generally, to the Church. My sentiments of gratitude extend to your closest collaborators, to the participants of the General Congregation, and to all Jesuits scattered in every part of the world.”
Father Kolvenbach’s leadership has been marked by his careful rooting of the renewal of recent years in the teaching and practice of Ignatius and his early companions, and his concern to be a source of unity for Jesuits around the world, at a time when the Society continues to be marked by an ever greater cultural plurality. As the Fathers of GC35 put it: “You have kept that union by being respectful of others, by means of your wise and balanced counsel, and by your inspiring presence in every province. The trust you have shown through your governance, not only to your curial staff but also to all of the provincials, has created a fraternal and collaborative setting…. [that] expresses very well one of our ideals… [to be] companions of Jesus.”
His Holiness, Benedict XVI, grants an audience to Fr. Nicolás, S.J.
The 35th General Congregation, after accepting Father Kolvenbach’s resignation on the 7th of January, proceeded to elect as his successor Fr. Adolfo Nicolás on January 19th. Many of the electors described the process of discernment leading up to the election as a truly consoling experience of the action of the Holy Spirit.When it became clear, as the votes were being counted on the second ballot, that Father Nicolás would be elected, the delegates spontaneously began to stand up and cheer. The experience of many Jesuits, upon hearing of the election, was one of great peace and even joy: I think that intuitively, many of us understood that once again the Holy Spirit had given us the person who could preside over the Society in love and call forth from all of us the graces for mission we will need in the years to come.
So just who is this man who has been chosen as Superior General? The third of four brothers, he was born in 1936 in the province of Palencia, in Castille in the north-central region of Spain. The family moved often, and he encountered the Jesuits in his final years of high school in Madrid. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1953, completing his philosophy studies in Spain before volunteering, in response to a request by Father General Janssens to the whole Society, to go to the missions. He was sent to Japan in 1960, where after language studies he completed his first studies in theology. After his priestly ordination in 1967, he was sent to the Gregorian University where he completed a doctorate in systematic theology in 1971. He then began to teach theology at Sophia University in Tokyo.
As a theologian, his interests seem to have been directed to fundamental issues: the doctrine of Revelation, the sacraments, the “last things” (heaven, hell, purgatory, God’s Reign), the theology of human existence. From the beginning, he linked these fundamental doctrinal concerns to pastoral care for the people of God. In 1978 he was sent to Manila in the Philippines to be director of the Pastoral Institute, which was founded after the Second Vatican Council to promote theological formation and renewal; many Asian bishops have been formed there, as well as novice directors and pastoral workers.
After stints as a formation superior and as the provincial of Japan (in which capacity he attended the 34th General Congregation), he moved in 2000 to a poor immigrant parish in Tokyo, where he was able to gain first-hand experience of their suffering. In the words of the official profile provided by the Society, “In this way his love for the poor and oppressed became his most important ministry.”
Fr. Nicolás preaching at the closing Mass of the General Congregation 35.
In 2004 he was named moderator of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania. In this role, he deepened the skills of cura personalis on which he will have to rely as General Superior. In the days after his election as General, many provincial superiors who are members of the Conference of East Asia and Oceania spoke warmly of Fr. Nicolás’ ability as Moderator to listen to them and to call forth unity and genuine care for each other from them.
What has emerged from this vocational path? What kind of person, what kind of Jesuit has Father Nicolás become? In a recent interview with members of the communications office of the 35th General Congregation, he stressed how important genuine conversation has become to him; he feels that he is constantly learning, that his identity is rooted in his communication with people and situations. He also stressed the importance of spiritual freedom and detachment, a point of contact between Ignatian spirituality and Buddhism that he has come to appreciate more and more over his many years in Asia. Many of the Jesuits at the General Congregation remarked on his happiness, his joy, and the serenity which he communicates.
He expresses a strong love for and commitment to the poor, who can help us, in his words, “become better religious because the people we get involved with give us a taste of reality…. These people are the living reality, people with faith, of whatever faith it is. It is sometimes a popular faith not very much educated, other times a very deep faith; other times more sophisticated. But this is the reality test for us, for our spirituality, and even for our faith at times.”
His hope for the Society of Jesus? “In whatever issue we are, theological or pastoral, personal or administrative, I think that we have a vocation for depth. Ignatius really went very deep into his discernment, very deep into spirituality, very deep into helping people and finding when help is help and when help is not help. And at the same time his vision was very wide. Deep and wide. Both are related; the deeper you go, the more free of your immediate limits you become, and you are able to see wider.” The Holy Spirit has given us once again a Father General who will be able to call out of the Society the richness of its spiritual gifts for our time, someone with the theological sophistication to root us in the Church and the spiritual and pastoral freedom to respond to the call of Pope Benedict to reach out from the heart of the church to the frontiers.