In his invention at the 25th Synod of Bishops, Fr General Adolfo Nicolás, superior general of the Society of Jesus, told the Synod that “a New Evangelisation has to learn something from the First Evangelisation, from the things we did well and from the mistakes we committed as well as the insufficiencies we suffered in our desire to communicate the Gospel”.
While he was in Australia in January, Fr General Adolfo Nicolás SJ responded to questions on vital areas for the Society in the country, including refugees, communications and social justice.
Refugees
How can we advance and expand the educational work that is being done to foster peace-building and reconciliation in post-conflict settings?
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.
The Superior General of the Jesuits, Fr Adolfo Nicolás SJ, made a special trip to Vietnam when he visited the region for the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific Major Superiors Assembly in January 2012. His visit coincided with the Têt, the celebration of the Lunar New Year, the most important Vietnamese holiday.
Father General Adolfo Nicolás SJ speaks to The Way about Interreligious Dialogue: The Experience of some Pioneer Jesuits in Asia.
Before becoming Superior General of the Jesuits in 2008, Adolfo Nicolás worked for many years in Asia. Here he draws on that experience to argue for the contemporary emergence of a new paradigm for the work of spreading the gospel, that of ‘evangelisation-through-dialogue’. He finds seeds of this in the work of the first Jesuits in that continent, seeds that at the time failed to flourish in an unprepared world.
Jesuit Superior General Adolfo Nicolás speaks to Jesuits in Belgium about how our modern world is giving us less time for what really matters in life.
During the month of July, as mentioned in previous editions of the S.J. Electronic Information Service, Father General made two important trips. One of them was in Asia where he visited the Philippines, (the occasion was the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the return of the Jesuits to the country), and Indonesia, for the 150th anniversary of the “modern” presence of the Society of Jesus in that nation. We present here his responses to our questions.
Fr Adolfo Nicolás, the Superior General, needed five adjectives to describe the Indonesian Jesuits as he was asked to conclude the dialogue during the dinner with the Jesuits and some invited guests on July 18. Those adjective are friendly, generous, adaptable, hospitable and dedicated.
From 11 – 14 July Father General will visit the Philippine Province to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the return of the Jesuits to the country (see further on) and the founding of what is today the Ateneo de Manila University. In 1768, the Jesuits of the Philippine Province, 154 in all, were expelled by order of King Charles III of Spain. They returned almost a hundred years later, in 1859, with the intention of evangelizing the southern island of Mindanao. Besides undertaking this pioneering missionary work, in December of the same year they assumed responsibility for the Escuela Pia, later renamed Ateneo Municipal. The present day Ateneo de Manila University has a student population of over 18.000. The Sesquicentennial Anniversary Eucharistic celebration will be held on July 12; Father General will be the principal celebrant. About 4.000 people, including 200 Jesuits, are expected to participate. The next day Father Nicolás will deliver the keynote address on: "Issues and challenges in Jesuit education today" before a group of Jesuits and their lay collaborators from the five universities, one college and other schools of the Philippine Province.
The major reason for the trip of Fr General to Japan from December 20 to January 2 was the celebration of the centennial of the Society’s return to the Land of the Rising Sun (1908-2008). The trip also offered Fr. Nicolás the opportunity to meet the Jesuits of the Province of Japan and to see many long-time friends. Fr. José M. de Vera, who accompanied Fr. General on his trip, gave some of his insights.