“The world is our house.” This phrase used by early Jesuit Jerome Nadal appropriately begins a section on Jesuit work with indigenous communities, the special focus of the 2017 Yearbook of the Society of Jesus. Nadal used it to refer to the multitudes of God’s people and the expanse of human cultures, and the six articles are testimonies from Jesuits who work with indigenous communities in different corners of the world: defending the rights of aborigines in Australia; helping indigenous rural communities in Bolivia to improve their living conditions; preserving and promoting the cultural and tribal identities of India; sharing faith and everyday life with the people of Guyana; healing the scars of 20th century wars in Jeju Island, South Korea, and Okinawa, Japan; and striving to provide education, health and hope to remote communities in Zimbabwe.
Knowing that General Congregation 36 (GC 36) would be underway when the yearbook went to press, there is also a General Congregation section. In these pages are articles on the experiences of General Congregations 31 to 35 through which, in the words of Fr John W Padberg SJ, the Society carried out “a path of renewal and reinvigoration of its life and mission”. There are also two articles written in anticipation of GC 36.
The rest of the yearbook offers, as in previous years, glimpses of Jesuit apostolates across the globe. There are, for example, articles about the Ignatian pilgrimage, the pastoral work on the border between Mexico and USA, the community radio experience in Argentina, HIV awareness in schools in Africa, the communities of Christian Life around the world and the new initiatives of the Apostleship of Prayer.
The four articles from the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific highlight the aboriginal ministry in Australia by Fr Frank Brennan SJ, the efforts towards peace and reconciliation in South Korea by Fr Frank Mun-su Park, JRS Australia’s work with asylum seekers by Fr Aloysious Mowe SJ and the screening of Kuangchi Program Service’s productions on Jesuit missionaries in China by Fr Jerry Martinson SJ.
The 148-page publication is published in English, Spanish, French, German and Italian and the printed yearbook was sent to Jesuits, collaborators and institutions in all the provinces of the Society of Jesus before the soft copy was recently made available online.
Download the 2017 Yearbook of the Society of Jesus here.