The Indonesian Jesuit Province will have a new provincial beginning 27 July. Fr General Arturo Sosa SJ has appointed Fr Albertus Bagus Laksana SJ to succeed Fr Benedictus Hari Juliawan SJ, who has served as Indonesian provincial since 2020.

Fr Bagus entered the Society of Jesus on 5 July 1992 and was ordained a priest on 29 July 2003. He professed his Final Vows on 2 February 2016.

A seasoned educator and distinguished scholar in Comparative Theology, Fr Bagus currently serves as president of Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, as well as animator of the intellectual apostolate and research for the Indonesian Province.

He completed his undergraduate studies in social and cultural philosophy at the Driyarkara School of Philosophy in Jakarta, earned his licentiate from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Massachusetts, USA, and obtained his doctorate in theology from Boston College, Massachusetts. Subsequently, he served as a visiting scholar and postdoctoral fellow at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

He returned to Indonesia in 2012 to teach theology at the Faculty of Theology of Sanata Dharma University. From 2014 to 2021, he served as dean and later as president of the Wedabhakti Pontifical Faculty of Theology in Yogyakarta.

Fr Bagus’ academic work and interest focus on interreligious studies, promoting mutual understanding and dialogue among religious communities in a pluralistic society. He has published extensively in both English and Indonesian on topics such as Christian-Muslim comparative theology, Asian theology, history of mission, religious pluralism, and encounters between religion and culture. He also seeks to address wider societal challenges, including religious radicalism and fundamentalism, particularly through engagement with students and academic communities.