Twenty-five Treasurers of our Jesuit Conference and their assistants gathered in Tokyo from 20 to 23 October for their yearly meeting held at the Jesuit Kamishakujii Residence. The participants were accommodated at the nearby Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Jesuit Retreat House. This was the third onsite meeting of the Treasurers since the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year’s gathering was hosted by the Australian Province in Sydney.
The highlight of the three-day meeting was the review of the newly revised Statutes on Religious Poverty and Instruction for Administration and Finance (SOP-IAF). Fr John Wilfred Lobo SJ, Assistant General Treasurer for South Asia and Asia Pacific, did a thorough review and presentation of the important features of the document. He also gave a run-through of the new reporting formats.
Fr Lobo reminded the Treasurers of our mission, emphasising that what makes our role distinct is the spirituality we bring to it. As stewards of the temporal goods of the Society, our spirituality is rooted in our vow of poverty and commitment to live in the way of Christ. As financial administrators, our apostolic service in the Society is grounded in the fundamental understanding that “the temporal goods of the Society are to be considered as belonging to our Lord Jesus Christ and as the patrimony of His poor” (IAF #10).
The meeting was also a venue for the various units to share their experiences. Special attention was given to presentations from Timor-Leste, Myanmar, and Vietnam on the status of their Arca Seminarii. These inputs were helpful in planning recalibrations and adjustments to the existing structures for financial assistance to units with weak Arca Seminarii. The eagerness to assist sister units was palpable in the discussion that followed.
No annual meeting of Treasurers is complete without a special tour sponsored by the host Province. This year, the all-women staff of Fr Mike Akamatsu SJ, Treasurer of the Japanese Province, accompanied the group on a special outing to a mountainous area in West Tokyo. We visited Akigawa Shinmeikutsu, a Zen temple built in 1969 by Fr Hugo Lasalle, a German Jesuit who came to Japan with an interest in Christian mysticism and became devoted to Japanese Zen meditation. The group participated in a guided Zen prayer exercise before celebrating the Eucharist and were treated to a special Zen-style vegetarian lunch.
Every Treasurers meeting is, most importantly, a golden opportunity to bond as friends in the Lord. Fr Sakuma Tsutomu SJ Provincial of the Japanese Province, together with Fr Akamatsu, set the tone of the meeting by personally welcoming the participants on the opening day. They saw to the minute details of Japanese hospitality throughout the group’s stay in Tokyo, including the warm nightly gatherings at the Jesuit Residence after dinner. Vietnam, next year’s host, was keenly taking notes.
Fr Vidal Gornez Jr SJ is the Treasurer and Development Officer of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific.