Fr Adolfo Nicolás SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, spent two weeks in Asia Pacific in January, visiting the Jesuit Chinese Province from January 13 to 16, and the Jesuit Vietnamese Province from January 17 to 25.
Accompanied by his regional assistants for Asia Pacific and Western Europe, Fr Daniel Huang SJ and Fr Antoine Kerhuel SJ, Fr General travelled first to Hong Kong and then to Taiwan in his five-day visit to the Chinese Province. During his meetings with Jesuits and lay people, he emphasized the need to trust in the Lord, broaden horizons, the gospel of wisdom, and renewal of cooperation as he shared his 60 years of experience in vocation and evangelization.
“In the past, the clergy is the centre of the Church. Today the lay people are the centre of the Church, and doing the mission of God,” said Fr General, adding that the lay people of today are better educated than before, and have professions that may even be better than those of Jesuits. Thus, collaboration is a necessary and natural development, as it has always been since the time of St Ignatius de Loyola.
Fr General noted “The Jesuits of the Chinese Province come from different countries. Their formation provided them a chance to learn from one another. From different cultural backgrounds, they can broaden their horizons, think differently, and help them to avoid a narrow viewpoint of things.” Collaboration, he added, should also come from an open and joyous heart.
He urged the Jesuits to deepen their faith with open hearts, and wise evangelization, be enduring in study and research, and avoid superficiality. “If the Jesuits lose their vision, there will be a crisis. Facing a world of uncertainty, the Jesuits need to trust and rely on God, that God is our vision and we should live joyfully with the world and feel that God is present as a mystery,” he said.
Jesuits, he said, must also be companions to those they serve, including the youth, whose needs they must understand. Imitating Jesus who loves humankind, Jesuits should serve humbly.
From Taiwan, Fr General flew to Vietnam where his first official act was presiding at the Mass for the province and receiving the final vows of 11 Jesuit priests and brothers in the chapel of Saint Joseph Jesuit Scholasticate. The Vietnam Province has 212 members including, a bishop, 55 priests, 96 scholastics, 18 brothers and 42 novices.
On January 18, Fr General concelebrated, along with 16 bishops and Jesuit Vietnam Provincial Fr Joseph Pham Thanh Liem SJ, the closing Mass of the yearlong celebration of the arrival of the first Jesuits in Vietnam 400 years ago. More than 3,000 people attended the mass held in the compound of the main Jesuit residence in Thu Duc, a suburb of Ho Chi Minh City.
The next morning, he joined the president and major superiors of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific for their four-day assembly, which concluded with lunch with many of the 178 candidates in the province.
Before leaving for Rome on January 25, Fr General met Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, non-resident Pontifical Representative for Vietnam, blessed the new retreat house and visited the Holy Family community, a Jesuit apostolic community in Dong Nai (approximately 40 km northeast of Ho Chi Minh City).
