Fr Arturo Sosa, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, travelled to Cagayan de Oro City in northern Mindanao, the second largest and southernmost island in the Philippine archipelago. Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, one of three Jesuit universities in Mindanao, welcomed Fr General with students and teachers lining the main University lane. Fr Roberto Yap SJ, President of Xavier University, was there along with Fr Karel San Juan SJ, President of Ateneo de Zamboanga University, as well as representatives from Ateneo de Davao University. The Jesuits assigned to Bukidnon, a mountainous province southeast of Cagayan de Oro where Jesuits work in parishes and schools for indigenous peoples, were also there to welcome Fr General.
His next stop was Xavier Ecoville, a resettlement site for those displaced by Tropical Storm Washi in 2011. It is reputedly the first university-led resettlement project in the world. The land was donated by the University, and helped manage the development of the community in Xavier Ecoville. Residents met with Fr General, also other beneficiaries and partners of Xavier University’s social development programmes, including survivors of the siege in Marawi City between the Philippine government forces and terrorist groups in 2017. They shared with Fr General their plight and expressed their gratitude for the assistance extended to them. Fr General commiserated with them and in his message emphasised the need to uphold human dignity and build human solidarity.
Fr General also visited St John Vianney Theological Seminary, which has been run by the Jesuits in Mindanao for over three decades. Over the years, hundreds of secular priests in Mindanao, including four bishops, came from St John Vianney. The Seminary’s Rector, Fr Norlan Julia SJ, welcomed Father General. During lunch, the seminarians sang Christmas carols. Fr General gave them the advice of Pope Francis: be close to the people, “smelling like your sheep” and to listen to the people because “the presbyterium is not an exclusive group of experts”, and finally to commit to proclaim the Gospel, the primary ministry of the priest.
Back at Xavier University, Fr General was presented with the Philippine Province Roadmap to Mindanao by Fr Roberto Yap SJ. Also discussed were the educational apostolate in Mindanao, the state of Jesuit initiatives for inter-religious dialogue especially with Muslim communities and the initiatives and challenges of the newly formed Jesuit ministry on indigenous peoples. Fr General shared updates on the “Universal Apostolic Preferences” of the Society of Jesus, and touched on concerns such as the challenge of Jesuits living the vow of poverty, the protection of minors and vulnerable adults, and the need to stop the culture of clericalism.
In the Eucharistic celebration that followed the conversations, Fr General’s homily focused on hope. He quoted Pope Francis:“our main task is to frequent or visit the future”. He said the Society’s work in Mindanao was about becoming “universities of hope, parishes of hope, and seminaries of hope”.