We celebrate on July 31 the feast of Ignatius Loyola, the founder and first Superior General of the Society of Jesus. His successor was elected at the first General Congregation that, delayed by a war, was held two years after his death, in 1558. In October this year, 220 electors will assemble in Rome for the 36th General Congregation, called to elect the 31st Superior General who will replace Fr General Adolfo Nicolás who, at 80 years of age, is seeking to resign.
In preparation for GC 36, Jesuits meeting in elected groups in provinces and regions across the world were asked to discern what the Eternal King is asking of the Society today. These meditations produced a significantly even response across the Society. The Eternal King calls us to respond to the dramatic forced displacement of people today and to the deterioration evidenced in our common home, to collaborate more closely with others in our mission of reconciliation and dialogue among people, to give ourselves wholeheartedly to the spiritual renewal of the Church, to study and renew ourselves from our Ignatian sources.
Despite the urgency of these calls, many Jesuits assume that this congregation will avoid lengthy exhortations. The Society is still living on the rich appeals of the most recent general congregations – to go to the frontiers, to be “fires that light other fires”, and to arrange our governance methods, formation practices and personal availability so that the Society may pursue its universal mission more effectively. This congregation may be expected to stick to its core business of electing a superior for the Society and a team to work with him, and to mandating adjustments in our organisational structures in order to meet the needs of our time.
Ignatius described in the Jesuit constitutions the sort of man who should be chosen as superior. Obviously he spoke of the personal qualities of prayerfulness, intelligence and a proven record of governance. In contemporary language, the required qualities include the ability to frame and communicate a vision that can be internalised and shared, and that will motivate; and the capacity, integrity and credibility to challenge the Society to respond to the needs of people today.
The new Superior General and his team will need to be able to lead and inspire a worldwide body and its many extended networks of collaborators. They will need to be able to organise the Society, naming and setting in place structures that correspond to the Society’s mission today. And they will need to be mindful of the rapidly changing demography of the Society. Almost half of the Jesuits in the world today live in Asia. Thirty-five percent are in South Asia and 12 percent in Asia Pacific. However, Christianity is hardly known in this part of the world.
We do indeed have a great challenge if we are to fulfil our mission, repeatedly affirmed in recent general congregations, to promote a faith that does justice in the context of contemporary cultures and religions. Given our tiny numbers and in the current context of repeated violence in our world, debased political discourse in many countries, and the widespread pursuit of ephemeral values, we may well pray that the Jesuits will hear and obey the call of the Eternal King.
Please pray that the forthcoming General Congregation 36 will bring a new vitality to our Society, prepare new leaders for today and give to the Jesuits and to our many companions in mission the competence, courage and commitment that only the Holy Spirit can inspire.
Happy Feast of Ignatius and wishing you many blessings,
Fr Mark Raper SJ
President, Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific
July 27, 2016