Rain poured down on the Jesuits as they walked to St Peter’s Basilica for Mass. It was early on the morning of the fifth day of General Congregation 36. Some might say it was a blessing from heaven as they headed, as many pilgrims have already done this year, to the Holy Door for the Jubilee Year of Mercy.
Since the resignation of Fr Adolfo Nicolás as Superior General on October 3, the 215 delegates have spent the days on De Statu, a draft and prepared document describing the Society of Jesus in the world of today, and considered in varying groups the needs of the Society over the coming decade and the qualities desired in the next Superior General.
During the mass, the presider, Fr Bienvenido Nebres SJ, a delegate from the Philippine Province and the oldest member of the Congregation, led the concelebrants in prayer for their discernment. “We ask the Father to place us, as he placed Ignatius, with Jesus carrying his cross. We ask the Lord Jesus who called us to the company that bears his name to be propitious to us. We ask the Holy Spirit to give light to our minds and to warm our hearts.”
Fr Nebres later prayed for a fire that “enkindles our hearts during this General Congregation so that we can kindle other fires and give the warmth of the love of God to a world grown cold.”
That day, the three major officials of the General Congregation were chosen. Fr Luis Orlando Torres from Puerto Rico and a member of the US South Central Province was elected Secretary of the Congregation. He is the rector of the Jesuit Community of Collegio Internationale del Gesù in Rome. The first Assistant Secretary is Fr Agnelo Macarenhas from Goa Province who is the Under Secretary of the Society in the General Curia. Fr Francisco Javier (Patxi) Alvarez from the Spanish Province is second Assistant Secretary. He is the Secretary for Social Justice and Ecology in the General Curia.
Together with the Vicar General, Fr James Grummer, who was appointed by Fr Nicolás before he resigned, the Secretary and the first assistant are the main officers for the election of the General.
Australian Provincial Fr Brian McCoy says that these first few days have been marked by the trilogy of prayer, reflection and conversation that “lies at the heart of our Jesuit way of proceeding and forms a tried and trusted way in which we seek to listen to God’s presence and Spirit within each one of us and guiding us as a group.
“This was something the first Companions discovered in their desire to find God’s will for the leadership of the Company they believed God called them to form. It encouraged them as they sought to elect one from amongst them to be their leader.”
And so it will be as the congregation moves to the Murmuratio on Monday, October 10, before they cast their votes for their new Superior General. They will spend four days in an atmosphere of prayer and discernment, with Eucharistic adoration and numerous Jesuits praying simultaneously. They can have one to one conversations about possible choices for the Superior General, but no group discussions are permitted.
In an interview before he left for Rome, Fr Antonio Moreno SJ, Philippine Provincial and a member of the GC 36 Coordinating Committee, voiced the hope “that we can elect the right leader, our new Father General, the right person for the right time, and in this present context. Our world is in need of reform, and Pope Francis himself has led this crusade to renew and reform our world and our Church. I hope that we will be in sync with the clarion call of Pope Francis.”