A Jesuit General Congregation is a rare event. This month, the 36th General Congregation to be held since the Society of Jesus was founded 475 years ago begins with the first meeting of Electors in the six Jesuit Conferences across the world. For the Jesuits in Asia Pacific, this meeting was held in Manila from October 19 to 22.
With General Congregation 36 commencing this month with meetings of Electors in their six respective Conferences, there is much curiosity about what a new Superior General will bring to the Society.
Recently I was called to Rome for two meetings, the first was a two-week meeting of the Coetus Praevius (Preparatory Committee) for General Congregation 36, and immediately following that, the six Conference Presidents stayed on for our annual meeting with Fr General. The backdrop to our time in Rome could not have been more apt – Syrian refugees were arriving in Europe by the tens of thousands. What I heard from JRS Syria director, Fr Nawras Sammour, about the conditions in Aleppo, Homs and Damascus remains with me still today.
Dear friends,
At last week’s assembly of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific the major superiors reflected on Laudato si’ and issued a declaration that seeks to animate a lively response in Asia Pacific. We urge all Jesuits in our Conference, our colleagues, and all those we seek to serve, to make a thoughtful and generous response to Pope Francis’ plea to reconcile with creation, which is one of our apostolic priorities.
Some 40 Jesuits met with Pope Francis at the Nunciature in Manila during his Philippines visit. All were ecstatic at the invitation. I was privileged to be among them.
From the beginning, the meeting was very much that of brother Jesuits coming together. Provincial Tony Moreno SJ opened the meeting saying that Francis had been met by 40 elephants in Sri Lanka and here in Manila he was met by 40 Jesuits. To which Francis replied, “The elephants were more colourfully dressed.”
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.
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.
With a Pope whose language and behaviour so closely reflect his Jesuit identity, the Society of Jesus is enjoying a period of encouragement in its mission. Pope Francis models a discerning, compassionate, pastoral approach for the Church. Each day he surprises us, yet his initiatives make sense to many people, whether believers or not, whether Christians or not.
In September, the six Conference Presidents gathered in Rome for their annual meeting with Fr General. Although we came from very different parts of the world, we could experience much in common in our roles of service to the Society’s global mission.
We know that death comes to everyone, nothing is more certain. Yet somehow, Zulo has been with us forever and why should that change? Yet death, so common, so utterly usual, normal, has come to claim him and to surprise us. Even in his diminishment these last 5 or 7 years the essential Zulo was ever present. Through years of dialysis with its obvious discomfort, he retained his inscrutable, penetrating, quizzical gaze. His face had a Mona Lisa quality. Was that a smile, a question, or a comment?