The Closing Session of the diocesan-level inquiry into the life, virtues, reputation for holiness, and signs of the Servant of God Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ will take place at the Lateran Palace in the Vatican on 14 November, on what would have been Fr Arrupe’s 117th birthday. Cardinal-elect Baldassare Reina, the vicar general of the Diocese of Rome, will preside over the ceremony.
With the diocesan phase concluding, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints will now begin its review of the diocesan tribunal’s findings and investigate whether to declare Arrupe a “venerable,” a title granted by the Pope if Fr Arrupe is found to have lived a life of holiness and virtue. If he is named venerable, the process can then advance to beatification, granting him the title of “blessed.” This step requires the confirmation of at least one miracle attributed to his intercession. For Fr Arrupe to be canonized as a saint, a second miracle would also need to be verified.
We are all invited to help the cause of Fr Arrupe’s canonization by praying for a miracle through his intercession. The British Jesuits have begun a novena of prayer for the canonization of Fr Arrupe, starting on 5 November, the feast of All Saints and Blessed of the Society of Jesus, and concluding on 13 November, the eve of the anniversary of the founding of Jesuit Refugee Service in 1980. Alongside this, they have created a prayer card for this novena, which is available for download.
Fr Arrupe was born in 1907 in the Basque region of Spain. He became a missionary to Japan in 1938 and served as master of novices at the Jesuit novitiate in Hiroshima during the bombing in 1945. Appointed Provincial of the Japanese Jesuit Province in 1958, he was later elected Superior General of the Society of Jesus in 1965 and participated in the final session of the Second Vatican Council. Fr Arrupe’s legacy includes the founding of the Jesuit Refugee Service and his call for Jesuit students to be “men and women for others”.
Get to know more about the life of Fr Arrupe through the following resources:
Jesuit Generals: Pedro Arrupe
Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ: Servant of God
Fr Pedro Arrupe, “true man of God”
Process for canonisation cause of Fr Pedro Arrupe underway
Pedro Arrupe: A heart larger than the world
Arrupe in Japan (animation)