Fr General Adolfo Nicolás SJ was in Australia in January for the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific Major Superiors Assembly. During his visit, he delivered an address to members for the Australian Province and its companions in which he identified the nurturing and formation of young people as a central concern for the Society of Jesus in the 21st century.
Fr Christopher Willcock SJ, an award-winning Australian composer of music for churches and concert halls, has joined the Boston College community as the Thomas I Gasson SJ Professor for 2011-12. He is presently a member of the United Faculty of Theology in Melbourne where he teaches courses in liturgy.
The Gasson Chair is held by a distinguished Jesuit scholar in any discipline and is the oldest endowed professorship at Boston College. Fr Chris is the first Gasson Professor to be based in the Music Department.
At the age of 70, when most people are retired or taking it easy, Australian Jesuit Celso Romanin SJ responded to an urgent call from Jesuit Refugee Service Australia for a priest to provide pastoral care to the detainees on Christmas Island. He had eight years of experience with refugees in Australia, Asia and Africa, yet the prospect of going to Christmas Island at his age was daunting. But he put his reservations before the Lord and ended up spending October with the detainees on Christmas Island.
Ignite café, Jesuit Social Services’ new hospitality training space, officially opened on November 19 with a full house gathered for this and the formal launch of the Mount Druitt Hub community space. The guests included Tony Burke, the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Water, Population and Communities; the Member of Parliament for Chifley, Ed Husic; and Blacktown Mayor Alan Pendleton.
More than 200 people from St Canice’s Parish in Sydney turned out for this year’s annual dinner to raise money for people in Timor Leste.
Special guests at this year’s celebration at Bondi Surf Lifesaving Club on October 29 were East Timorese scholastics Dino Sarmento and João dos Santos, who are currently studying at Jesuit Theological College in Melbourne.
The two scholastics entertained the crowd with talks about their home as well as musical performances.
An online programme that provides refugees on the Thai-Burma border with the opportunity to study for a university degree is the subject of a chapter in a new book called Ethnicity and Race. The programme is the brainchild of the Refugee Tertiary Education Committee (RTEC), which was formed by Fr Michael Smith SJ from the Australian Province.
In the small town of Sevenhill in the Clare Valley of South Australia, a handful of Jesuits gathered with representatives of Jesuit schools, ministries and Aboriginal colleagues to chart a path for the Australian Province’s Indigenous Ministry.
Fr Brian McCoy SJ, Provincial Assistant for Ministry among Indigenous Peoples, convened the gathering together in late August with Fr Pat Mullins SJ and Fr Maurie Heading SJ. These three priests are considered pioneers in this work, with over four decades of accompaniment and service to various Indigenous communities across Australia.
Jesuit Social Services in Australia has created an online support service for people who have lost a loved one through suicide. Launched on September 13, in conjunction with World Suicide Prevention Day, the Support After Suicide Online Community provides people who are bereaved by suicide the opportunity to meet in a confidential and safe environment. The online community is a space for them to share stories, ask advice and provide support for each other in coping with their loss.
Jesuit Mission and JRS Australia have pledged their support to an urgent appeal by the Jesuit Province of East Africa and JRS East Africa. Funds are desperately needed to help victims of a severe famine that has been triggered by the worst drought in half a century in the Horn of Africa.
AUSTRALIA − Fr John Reilly SJ speaks to Richard Fidler of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation about retreats, Ignatian spirituality and his vocation. Fr John is the Superior of the Jesuits in Queensland and a member of the team at the Faber Centre of Ignatian Spirituality.
Listen to the 1-hour interview on ABC’s Conversations with Richard Fidler aired on July 1, 2011.