Ladislas Nsengiyumva SJ was ordained to the priesthood in Holy Family Catholic Church in Taipei, Taiwan. The ordination on July 30 was presided by Most Rev John B Hung Shan-Chuan, Archbishop of Taipei, with Fr John Lee Hua SJ, Provincial of the Jesuit Chinese Province concelebrating the Mass.
July 30 was a day for rejoicing for the Jesuits of the Jesuit Independent Region of Timor-Leste, and not just because of the Feast of St Ignatius the next day. That Sunday was the ordination to the priesthood of Sidelizio (Side) Ornai Pereira SJ, and every Jesuit in the country travelled to his hometown of Baucau to celebrate the first Timorese Jesuit ordination to the priesthood since 2010. Jesuits from other parts of Asia Pacific also travelled to Timor-Leste for the ordination.
The Australian Jesuit Province recently welcomed a new priest into its ranks. Justin Glyn SJ was ordained priest in the Cathedral of St Patrick and St Joseph in Auckland, New Zealand on August 6, the Feast of the Transfiguration. He was joined by his family, and by many other Jesuits who travelled there for the occasion.
The Society of Jesus in Korea celebrates three new Jesuit priests: Fr Kim Min-cheol John, Fr Yeo Myoung-mo Paul Ha Sang, and Fr Kim Kun-dong Benedict. They were ordained to the priesthood on June 29 at Myung-dong Cathedral in Seoul, South Korea. More than 1,100 people participated in the ordination mass concelebrated by His Eminence Andrew Cardinal Yeom Soo-jung DD, Archbishop of Seoul, and 100 priests. During his homily, Cardinal Yeom called for the newly ordained Jesuits to be good shepherds who serve Christ, read the Scripture, believe the Word and do what they will teach.
In May 2015, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) approached the Jesuits in Jakarta for the help of Myanmar scholastics as translators for its interviews with Myanmar citizens who had been enslaved in the Thai fishing industry. Several scholastics did so, among them Simon Kam Sian Muan, who is now back in Myanmar for his Regency. He shares here what he learnt from the experience.
Fifty years ago, the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) embarked on a new mission through the initiative of Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ, then Superior General of the Society of Jesus. After providing liturgical renewal for missionaries for more than a decade, it changed its purpose in 1966 to providing programmes for renewal and aggiornamento in the spirit of Vatican II.
From December 17 to January 1, 25 Jesuit scholastics from across the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific gathered in Tacloban City – one of the areas hardest hit by Super Typhoon Haiyan –to learn about disaster risk reduction and management, the theme of the 2015 Scholastics and Brothers Circle Workshop. After talks, immersion and reflection, they each had to write a plan for disaster risk reduction and management in their own context. Myanmar scholastic Paul Tu Ja SJ shares this reflection on his experience.
Filipino scholastic Richard Fernando SJ lived in Arrupe International Residence (AIR) from 1994 to 1995. He went to Cambodia for his Regency, and died in Banteay Prieb at the age of 26 while trying to prevent a student from releasing a grenade at the vocational institute. As AIR celebrates its Silver Jubilee, we remember one of the house’s martyrs.
Are leaders born or made? This question has long been debated by experts around the world. Some claim that there are people naturally cut out for leadership, and others insist that becoming a leader is a process. Either way, it cannot be denied that there are no perfect leaders and that, whether you are a born leader or a leader who took time to develop, there is always room to become better at leading. This is the premise that grounds the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific’s Leadership Development Programme.
JCAP Formation Delegate Fr Norris Seenivasan SJ of the Malaysia-Singapore Jesuit Region was one of the early residents of the Arrupe International Residence. As a scholastic, he called AIR home from 1993 to 1997. In 2015, as AIR celebrates its 25th anniversary, he recalls how the house of formation helped him become the Jesuit he is today.