Superior General of the Society of Jesus Fr Arturo Sosa arrived in Yogyakarta, Indonesia today, July 11, on the first leg of his first visit to the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP).
Tomorrow, Fr General will meet with the Jesuits of the Indonesia Province for talks pertaining to General Congregation 36, which elected him as Superior General last year, and directions of Jesuit life, mission and engagements.
Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim country and in Yogyakarta, Fr General will be meeting with Muslim scholars. During the meeting, he will be given an introduction to Islam in Indonesia and discuss possible collaborations in the fields of education and social development.
A reception is planned with 800 lay collaborators and alumni of Sanata Dharma University, and Fr General will be speaking to them about Ignatian collaboration.
On July 13, Fr Sosa will meet with the newly installed Archbishop of Semarang Robertus Rubiyatmoko before concelebrating the Ordination Mass to the priesthood of six Jesuits in the Church of St Anthony of Padua.
His next stop is Cambodia, where he will meet with Jesuits and collaborators, and visit some of the mission’s works.
Cambodia is a predominantly Buddhist country and on July 15, Fr Sosa will join the meeting of Jesuits and friends on Buddhist-Christian Dialogue in Siem Reap. From the meeting he will learn how Jesuits and Buddhists are cooperating in Cambodia for peace and reconciliation through Jesuit-Buddhist dialogue and action, and the Dhamayietra (Peace Walk) movement.
Later, in Phnom Penh, Fr General will tour the Tuol Sleng Genocide Memorial Museum, meet with Bishop Olivier Schmitthaeusler and visit Banteay Prieb, the Jesuit vocational school for disabled survivors of landmines and polio.
On July 17, Fr Sosa will go to Singapore to join the JCAP Major Superiors in their four-day assembly. He will also meet with the Jesuits of the Malaysia-Singapore Region, visit the Archbishop of Singapore William Goh and give a talk to lay collaborators before flying back to Rome at the end of the week.
Main photo: (L to R) Fr Fransiskus Asisi Susilo, Local Superior of Bellarminus community, Fr General Arturo Sosa and Indonesian Provincial Fr Petrus Sunu Hardiyanta