The Sanctuario de Loyola in Spain is currently the destination for 12 Jesuits from across our Asia Pacific conference, as they join over a hundred of their Jesuit brothers for the 71st Congregation of Procurators (CP).
The CP is a vital governing body of the Society of Jesus that convenes every few years. The assembly comprises one delegate from each of the Society’s provinces and regions who have been elected by their brothers to report to Father General on the state of the Society in their part of the world, including any urgent issues that have arisen in their work, life, and prayer as Jesuits. The delegate, referred to as a procurator in the province and a relator in the region, delivers his report after visiting communities and individuals, listening and discerning with them.
Fr Alvin Ng SJ, the relator of the Malaysia-Singapore Region, shares that the community visits marked a first for anyone who had never been a superior or provincial. Despite the initial challenge of preparing questions to elicit authentic feedback from the ground, his experience was one of privileged listening.
“Both young and senior Jesuits, in formation and fully professed, shared from the depths of their hearts, what consoled and concerned them about the state of the region,” he shared. “The shadows at times seemed to overpower the lights, but where the lights are found, dreams are shared and a hope-filled future re-imagined. These lights prove that the Ignatian magis is still alive amongst our men in its authenticity and creativity. The Spirit is already at work.”
Besides Fr Ng, the other procurators and relators from our Jesuit Conference are Fr Hwang Jeong-yeon Javier SJ (Korea), Fr Paul Pollock SJ (Thailand), Fr Bambang A Sipayung SJ (Indonesia), Fr Xavier, Fr Erik John Gerilla SJ (Timor-Leste), Fr Francis Xavier Nguyen Hai Tinh SJ (Vietnam), Fr Juan C Haidar (Japan), Fr Kang In-gun SJ (Cambodia), Fr Robert Rivera (Philippines), Fr Thomas Renshaw SJ (Australia), and Fr Amalraj Chinnappan SJ (Myanmar).
The delegates have been requested to focus their reports on the theme, “Seeing all things new in Christ”. Fr General Arturo Sosa SJ has tasked them with reporting on how the Universal Apostolic Preferences – presented to the Society of Jesus by Pope Francis in 2019 – have influenced life and ministry across the global Society.
“The Congregation of Procurators is a unique opportunity to listen to the Spirit,” said Fr General Sosa. “We live in a period of enormous change, and the Universal Apostolic Preferences have set us on a journey of exploration. Our shared home is more at risk than ever before; poverty is increasing, and people feel increasingly disconnected and marginalized; men and women are yearning for the life-giving Spirit; and the youth long for a future full of hope. The meeting here in Loyola will provide an opportunity to reflect on how this journey is progressing and to assist us in deepening it.”
The CP, like all things in Jesuit life, commences with prayer. The delegates began their eight-day retreat on 6 May, led by General Counsellors Fathers Victor Assouad, Claudio Paul, and Mark Ravizza. The canonical portion of the Procurators’ Congregation will take place from 15 May to Ascension Day, 21 May, concluding with a closing Mass in the Loyola basilica.
Fr Ng shared that the grace he seeks during the Congregation is the grace of the First Week of the Spiritual Exercises: “Magnanimity to allow God to lead, gratitude for the graces He gives, and of course, wisdom to know the difference!”
Fr Gerilla prays earnestly that all the delegates “may be inspired and animated by the Spirit to respond to the signs of the times. Thus to see all things new in Christ.”
All Jesuit communities and collaborators in the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific are requested to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit during the Congregation of Procurators by reciting the prayer below during meetings of communities or apostolates or in private prayer. (Click here for the prayer in Chinese language.) Additionally, a morning prayer will be broadcast live daily on the Jesuits Global YouTube channel from 16 to 21 May at 9:30 am Central European Time.
Prayer for the Congregation of Procurators
Our merciful Father,
who offered our father Ignatius
a path of conversion
and led him by the hand
towards a greater dream.
We, his sons, ask you now,
in this time of challenges and calls,
that you guide us, as you did him,
along the paths of poverty and humility,
to feel and taste your Will.
Welcome, Father, this “least” Company,
that gathers in your name.
Enkindle in our hearts
the fire of the Spirit of your Son,
our brother, friend and Lord,
in whose Love and Life you continue to gather us.
Today, as yesterday, Lord,
in communion with the Church
and her evangelizing mission,
we want to be the way to you,
so that those who seek you may find you;
joyful friends of the poor and excluded;
pilgrims together with young people who explore
their hope for a new world;
caretakers of the Common Home
and sowers of justice and reconciliation.
We ask you again, Lord,
in this incredible present,
open to all your promises,
to be placed with the Son,
to renew in us your Hope
and to see all things new in Him.
May your Spirit accompany and guide us,
in these days of prayer
and discernment in common,
so that we may feel your Will in all things
and may we fulfill it completely.
In the hands of Mary,
Our Lady of the Way,
Mother of Jesus and our Mother,
we place this Congregation,
so that it may feel her motherly love.
AMEN.
Related story: JCAP at CP 71