Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific

28 Sep 2014

A Universal Body with a Universal Mission

by JCAP | posted in: Beyond JCAP, JCAP News | 0

At our annual meeting with Fr General in Rome this month, the six Jesuit Conference presidents identified significant strategies that are bearing fruit for greater solidarity among Jesuits and our colleagues globally, and planned new cooperative measures. Since the primary goal of conferences concerns mission, we dealt with questions such as restructuring of governance arrangements, solidarity in sharing resources across the Society, cooperation in the formation of Jesuits and promotion of studies in Ignatian spirituality.

25 Sep 2014

Tragic irony – Peace and Restoration

by JCAP | posted in: Beyond JCAP | 0

During this month of September, many celebrate the World Day of Peace. At the same time we Jesuits and friends continue to give thanks that the Society of Jesus was restored 200 years ago. Both events would encourage us, despite seeming evidence to the contrary, that hope can be maintained even in the face of death.

24 Sep 2014

Pope appoints Jesuit to the post of Promoter of Justice

by JCAP | posted in: Beyond JCAP | 0

Pope Francis has appointed Fr Robert J Geisinger SJ Promoter of Justice for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In this role, Fr Geisinger will serve as the Vatican’s chief prosecutor and is charged with investigating canon-law offences that are regarded as being the most serious, including crimes against the sanctity of the Eucharist, violations of the seal of confession and allegations of the abuse of minors by clergy.

Fr Geisinger takes over from Fr Robert W Oliver, who has been appointed Secretary to the Vatican Commission for the Safeguarding of Minors.

28 Aug 2014

Pope receives Australian gift for anniversary of Restoration

by JCAP | posted in: Beyond JCAP, Province News | 0

Australian Provincial Fr Brian McCoy SJ and former Provincial Fr Steve Curtin SJ presented Pope Francis with a special gift of Sevenhill wine at a celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Restoration of the Society. Fr McCoy and Fr Curtin were in Rome for the Tertian Directors Meeting, which coincided with the anniversary celebration on August 7. They were joined by another Australian Jesuit, Fr Minh-Uoc Pham.

24 Apr 2014

St Anchieta – a new Jesuit saint to inspire the Society

by JCAP | posted in: Beyond JCAP | 0

Spanish Jesuit missionary Blessed José de Anchieta was declared a saint by Pope Francis on April 3. His canonisation was celebrated with joy in churches in Brazil, where he is known as the Apostle of Brazil.

The new St Anchieta was a highly influential figure in Brazil’s history and one of the founders of the cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. In a Mass to celebrate St Anchieta, Cardinal Orani Tempesta, Metropolitan Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, said it was “impossible to write about the history of Brazil without mentioning the presence of Jose de Anchieta”.

25 Feb 2014

Commemorating the Restoration of the Society 200 years ago

by JCAP | posted in: Beyond JCAP | 0

Jesuits across Asia Pacific have planned various activities to commemorate the bicentennial of the Restoration of the Society of Jesus. In 1814, Pope Pius VII ordered the restoration of the Society, which had been suppressed in 1773 by Pope Clement XIV.

Globally the year-long celebration of the bicentennial began on January 3, at the mass for the feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, which Pope Francis celebrated with fellow Jesuits at the Church of the Gesù in Rome.

6 Feb 2014

Remembering Pedro Arrupe SJ

by JCAP | posted in: Beyond JCAP, Social Justice | 0

This month we remember Pedro Arrupe, the 28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus who died on February 5, 1991 aged 83. An incredibly charismatic general, he spent the last 10 years of his life confined in the infirmary, patiently enduring the debilitating effects of a cerebral stroke.

20 Dec 2013

Peter Faber declared a saint

by JCAP | posted in: Beyond JCAP, Spirituality | 0

More than 140 years after he was beatified, Peter Faber is now a saint. The announcement was made on December 17, Pope Francis’ 77^th birthday, and is something of a gift to his fellow Jesuits for whom Faber is a well-loved role model.

With Faber’s “equivalent canonization”, the pope extended his devotion to the universal Church and inscribed him in the catalogue of saints, bypassing the Vatican’s typical procedures for sainthood which include ascertaining two miracles to their intercession.

3 Aug 2013

Pope Francis celebrates Ignatius’ Feast Day Mass with fellow Jesuits

by JCAP | posted in: Beyond JCAP | 0

Pope Francis celebrated the Feast of St Ignatius on July 31 with around 300 Jesuits and close collaborators at the Gesù Church in Rome. In his homily, he spoke to three themes, referring repeatedly to the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius, a compilation of meditations, prayers, and contemplative practices to help people deepen their relationship with God.

The pope spoke of putting Christ at the centre of the Church, of allowing oneself to be conquered by Him to serve and of feeling the shame of our limitations in order to be humble before Him and before one another.

23 Mar 2013

The Society and Pope Francis

by JCAP | posted in: Beyond JCAP | 0

Pope Francis is the first Jesuit Pope. In a statement issued on March 14, Father General Adolfo Nicolás SJ gave thanks to God for the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio SJ as the Pope, which he said “opens for the Church a path full of hope”. We republish here Fr General’s statement, Pope Francis’ response, and Fr General’s report of his visit with Pope Francis on March 17.

Statement of the Superior General of the Society of Jesus on the election of Pope Francis