In his letter to the whole Society of Jesus dated 20 May, Fr Superior General Arturo Sosa relayed “with sorrow, but at the same time full of gratitude” the death of our former Superior General, Fr Adolfo Nicolás.
The letter shared some personal information about Fr Adolfo Nicolás: “Affectionately called “Adolfo” by Jesuits in Rome and “Nico” by many of us in the Philippines and other Jesuits from Asia Pacific. Fr Nico was born in Palencia (Spain) on 29 April 1936. He entered the Society on 14 September 1953 and was ordained a priest on 17 March 1967. As a scholastic he was sent to the mission of Japan, where, among other things, he was Professor of theology, Rector of scholastics and Provincial, later dedicating himself to social work with immigrants in Tokyo.
“For 10 years he lived in the Philippines, serving as Director of the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) and as President of the Conference of Provincials of East Asia and Oceania. After presenting his resignation as General of the Society, he was a spiritual director at EAPI and in the Arrupe International Residence in Manila”.
I was on my third year working as Regional Secretary for Asia Pacific Region at the General Curia in Rome when Fr Nico was elected Superior General by the 35th General Congregation (GC 35) on 19 January 2008. I continued to serve him as Regional Secretary and with Fr Danny Huang SJ as Regional Assistant for Asia Pacific until my return to the Philippines in May 2011.
The notice of Fr Nico’s death brought back so many personal memories with him in Rome. One of the most significant memories was his election as Superior General during the 35th General Congregation. I was working with the General Secretariat under Fr Ignacio Echarte SJ and was one of the four secretaries taking down the Acta (minutes) during the plenary sessions of the delegates inside the Aula of the Congregation. I was in charge of collating all the comments recorded by the other three secretaries and preparing the full Acta in the preferred languages of the respective delegates either in English, Spanish, French or Italian.
The following decrees of GC 35: Decree 1: With Renewed Vigor and Zeal; Decree 2: A Fire that Kindles Other Fires; Decree 3: Challenges to Our Mission Today; Decree 4: Obedience in the Life of the Society of Jesus; Decree 5: Governance at the Service of Universal Mission; Decree 6: Collaboration at the Heart of Mission, expressed with much depth and creativity the renewed apostolic goals of the Jesuit vocation and mission. Fr Nico was guided by these decrees which he faithfully implemented during his eight years of governance as Superior General until his resignation in October 2016.
One of the recurring themes of his governance of the Society was his emphasis on “depth”! I see this emphasis on depth manifested through his personal dealings with others, through his purpose in governing our various Jesuit mission or ministries, and through his prayerful encounter with our Lord.
First is depth through his personal dealings with others. As expressed by Fr Federico Lombardi in his tribute on behalf of the 36thGeneral Congregation (2016), Fr Nico’s personal style of leadership was always marked by “warmth, goodness, and joy”. Fr Ben Nebres shared with America Magazine after the election of Fr Nico in 2008: “When I think of him, the feelings that come are of affection and friendship. Father Nico is many things, but he is above all a companion and a friend.” Personally, I felt deeply his personal care while working with him at the General Curia. Fr Nico used to come to my office (Regional Secretary) to take his light snacks (including some delicacies from the Philippines) and to engage in light conversation about various matters.
This depth of his personal dealings with others is shared more (especially after learning of his death) through the many personal testimonies of friends (as shared in Facebook posts and other communications). I wish to quote from his personal dentist, Dr Wilma Manahan Gomez: “I was truly amazed by this man of God. He has this certain aura of charm and brilliance. I will always remember his humor. He would start telling a joke but would be doubled in laughter even before he gets to the punch line. I was touched when he made sure he visited me one last time before he flew to Japan to retire there. So long Fr Nico, prayers promised for you.”
Second is depth through the purpose of our various Jesuit mission or ministries. As expressed well by our present Superior General, Fr Arturo Sosa: “Fr Nico brought to the Society his deep missionary vocation that helped us to see the universality of the mission from the perspective and the passion of presenting the Good News in all corners of the world…he never tired of reminding us of the depth of spiritual life and intellectual depth as characteristics of the vocation of the Society…. He opted for universal apostolic preferences and promoted the restructuring of the Society in order to adapt to the new realities of the world and our apostolic body.”
In his homily at the conclusion of GC 35 on 6 March 2008, Fr Nicolas anchored this depth in the purpose of our mission through our charism: “We all know that it is not through guidelines or directives written for others that the Church and the Society will change. They will change if we know how to become new persons. The question is not what we wish to do in community, but what kind of community men we need to become in order to ‘remain’ obedient men, men who know how to discern, men who are always companions, always. Not with some people whom we choose to be our collaborators, but to be companions of others always and everywhere—ready to serve, ready to offer solidarity. Men who live continually in love and in service. To love and to serve in all things.”
Third is depth through prayerful encounter with God. The following day after his election as Superior General, Fr Nico asked me to redesign the General’s private oratory/chapel in the Curia. I designed this prayer space by following the Japanese tatami room style to remind him of his missionary roots in Japan. I placed tatami mats on the floor with a low wooden altar and a zafu (round cushion pillows) as seat for his daily mass and prayer meditation. We kept the crucifix (which dated from the time of St Francis Borgia) on the central wall of the oratory above the tabernacle.
We believe that the depth of Fr Nico’s personal dealings with others and the purpose of our apostolic mission as Jesuits are anchored deeply through his prayerful encounter with the Lord. He defined this “depth in prayer” as always remaining with Jesus: “The invitation which we have received in our Congregation and in today’s liturgy is to become new persons—persons who ‘remain’ with our insights and who ‘remain’ with the contacts we have established with the Lord through one another.” (Homily on 6 March 6, 2008)
Fr Arturo Sosa said that we can best remember Fr Adolfo Nicolás through the following brief prayer (an excellent synthesis of his person and of his spirituality), written in his own hand after an eight-day retreat with his General Council in 2011:
Lord Jesus, what weaknesses did you see in us that made you decide to call us, in spite of everything, to collaborate in your mission?
We give you thanks for having called us, and we beg you not to forget your promise to be with us to the end of time. Frequently we are invaded by the feeling of having worked all night in vain, forgetting, perhaps, that you are with us.
We ask that you make yourself present in our lives and in our work, today, tomorrow, and in the future yet to come. Fill with your love these lives of ours, which we put at your service. Take from our hearts the egoism of thinking about what is “ours,” what is “mine”, always excluding, lacking compassion and joy. Enlighten our minds and our hearts, and do not forget to make us smile when things do not go as we wished.
At the end of the day, of each one of our days, make us feel more united with you and better able to perceive and discover around us greater joy and greater hope.We ask all this from our reality. We are weak and sinful men, but we are your friends. Amen.
In this Memorial Mass, we pray that we may receive the same grace of depth (as experienced by Fr Nico) through our personal dealings with others, through the purpose of our Jesuit vocation and mission and through our daily prayerful encounter with our Lord! Amen.
Homily of Fr Jose VC Quilongquilong SJ at the memorial Mass for Fr Adolfo Nicolás SJ on 22 May 2020 at the Jesuit Residence, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines