The Superior General of the Jesuits, Fr Adolfo Nicolás SJ, made a special trip to Vietnam when he visited the region for the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific Major Superiors Assembly in January 2012. His visit coincided with the Têt, the celebration of the Lunar New Year, the most important Vietnamese holiday.
Fr Nicolás wanted to meet the Jesuits of this young, fast-growing Province that has suffered so much. The three-day visit from January 18 to 20 was a great encouragement, and busy with meetings with scholastics, brothers, novices, candidates to the Society, Province consultors, the rector of the scholasticate, the sick and elderly in the infirmary, etc.
Fr Daniel Huang SJ, the Assistant for Asia-Pacific who accompanied Father General on the trip, noted: “Father General had a fruitful dialogue with the young men in formation of the Vietnamese Province. He encouraged and challenged them to aim to serve not just Vietnam but the universal mission of the Society, and to deepen the spirit of Saint Ignatius in their lives.”
More than 100 of the approximately 160 members of the Province are in formation.
During his visit, Fr General also paid a visit to a good friend of the Society, the Cardinal Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh city, Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man.
The scholastics of the Vietnam Province prepared a pictorial account of Father General’s visit. Click the link below to download it.