Fr Ignatius Tambudzai SJ of the Zimbabwe-Mozambique Jesuit Province is one of the newest members of the community in Arrupe International Residence in the Philippines. He shares this reflection on his first months living with Jesuits from different parts of the world in this international house of formation as it celebrates its 25th year.
This year marks the 25th year of the establishment of Arrupe International Residence (AIR) as a formation house in Manila for Jesuit scholastics across Asia Pacific. The house was built in 1990 when Fr Daven Day SJ was President of what was then the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania. It grew from a felt need for a common Juniorate in this part of Asia and began as a house for philosophers, theologians and a couple of juniors.
American Jesuit scholastic David Romero began his Regency in the Philippines, working with Casa Bayanihan and living in the Arrupe International Residence where the community comprises Jesuits of 15 nationalities. His year in AIR left him with a profound sense of gratitude to God for giving him and the others in the community the chance to share their lives together and for what he has learned from these relationships.
The Loyola School of Theology (LST) in Manila recently announced its partnership with the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in offering one of its graduate programs in pastoral ministry beginning in August 2015.
Ten tertians from nine provinces recently completed the 2014-2015 Asia Pacific Tertianship in Manila. For six months, from September 7, 2014 to March 6, 2015, the tertians were engaged in ministries, chosen with the guidance of their spiritual directors. These were varied and included working in prisons, migrant service, orphanages, parishes, high schools, hospitals, and with indigenous people’s ministry.
On August 23, 2014, family, relatives, friends, and Jesuits gathered at the Ateneo de Manila University’s Church of the Gesu to celebrate the diaconal ordination of nine Jesuits, one from the Vietnamese Province (Joseph Pham Din Cu), five from the Korean Province (Seokbae Andrew An, Hyungsik Francis Jo, Do-hyun Paul Kim, Min Kim, Jaesang Jason Bonaventura Lee), and five from the Philippine Province (Ambrosio Faustino Flores, Alvin Dagooc Laput, Mark Peter Ledesma Lopez, Arnel Te Ong, Henry Cogal Ponce).
The Loyola School of Theology (LST) in Manila has begun offering a theology programme through which students, especially Jesuit scholastics, can engage with Asian contexts.
“Carry your cross!” This was the challenge of Bishop Honesto Ongtioco to the 13 Jesuit deacons he ordained on September 14, 2013. The Jesuit ordinands included nine from the Philippine Province – Manases L Amanence SJ, Guillrey Anthony M Andal, SJ, Antonio M Basilio SJ, Eric Anthony S Escandor, SJ, Erik John J Gerilla SJ, Jose Emmanuel A Liwanag SJ, Ruben B Orbeta Jr SJ, Neupito J Saicon SJ, and Irmo Fracis A Valeza SJ.
The Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific has published its 2013 annual report, Jesuits in Asia Pacific 2013.
The document offers Jesuits, collaborators and friends a report by Conference President Fr Mark Raper SJ on 2012, articles on four key areas for the Conference that year – education, formation, spirituality and international works, and a brief look forward to 2013.
If the JCAP major superiors needed a reminder of the extent of and differences in our Conference, the last two locations for our biannual meeting certainly provided that. The island Republic of Palau, population 20,600, is a vastly different locale from that of our previous assembly held last July in Macau, a part of China, population over 1.4 billion.