Some 30 Jesuits from five continents gathered at Boston College in April for a three-day conference on networking within the Society. Also at the conference were lay people, who along with the Jesuits are from various levels of Jesuit governance and apostolic works.
The Society is now at a new stage brought about by a couple of converging factors – the demographic realities and how we can best serve the universal mission today.
Our numbers have been in decline for the last 40 years – from over 30,000 in the 1960s to fewer than 18,000 today. The steep declines in Europe and North America and consistent decline in Latin America have not been offset by the significant increase in South Asia and a small rise in Africa.
Fr Matthias Joon-ho Chae SJ died suddenly, aged 57, on April 1 in his hometown, Daegu, in Korea. Fr Matthias oversaw the rapid expansion of the Society in Korea during the last 20 years. On completing his PhD in counseling in the USA, he was appointed Formation Delegate for the Korean Region. He was later Superior of the Korean Region and then the first Provincial of the Korean Province in 2005. Since 2009, Fr Matthias served as the first Formation Delegate for the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific.
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?
Following the launch of A Profile of a Formed Jesuit in late 2011, Jesuit Houses, especially houses of formation, have been studying how they can incorporate it into their programmes. Arrupe International Residence (AIR) is one of these.
The 10 tertians in the Asia Pacific Tertianship completed their six-month tertianship in early March. One of them, Fr John Sullivan SJ, contributed this reflection on the experience.
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.
The Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific has released a detailed document on formation for Jesuits for this part of the world.
Entitled “Forming a Contemplative in Action: A Profile of a Formed Jesuit for Asia Pacific”, the document addresses three major questions – What does a formed Jesuit look like? What specific issues does initial formation need to address? What competencies a formed Jesuit for Asia Pacific needs to have mastered?