Moves to reorganise Society across Western Europe
The new Provincial Superior of the British Jesuits is Fr Damian Howard SJ (pictured), a specialist in contemporary Islamic thought, who has been teaching at Heythrop College in west London since 2010.
The appointment was made by Fr Arturo Sosa SJ, the General Superior of the Society of Jesus. Fr Howard replaces Fr Dermot Preston SJ, who has been Provincial Superior since 2011. Fr Howard takes up his new post on 1 September.
The appointment comes at a challenging time for the Jesuits in Britain following the controversial decision to close Heythrop College, after the failure of negotiations to secure the 400-year-old institution’s long-term future. It was first announced that the college was to be sold in 2015 “due to rapidly mounting costs”.
The official announcement also suggests there may be further changes ahead: the Provincial Superior normally serves for a six-year term. However, “there are currently moves to reorganise the ways in which the Society of Jesus is administered in Western Europe, so Fr Howard may not be in post for a full six-year term,” the statement explained.On learning of his appointment, Fr Howard said he was “both deeply touched by this act of trust and daunted by the challenge. But I know I can count on the prayers and support of the Jesuits in Britain and of our many friends.”
Born in Surrey in 1967, Fr Howard read music and divinity at Trinity College, Cambridge, before joining the Jesuit novitiate in Birmingham in 1990. Having worked and studied in Brussels, Paris, Chile, Glasgow and Birmingham he took a PhD in contemporary Islamic thought in 2010. He has been teaching theology and Christian-Muslim relations at Heythrop for the past seven years.
Last month, it was announced that the college has been sold to a property developer, reportedly for over £100 million. This follows the breakdown of partnership negotiations, first with St Mary’s University, Twickenham, and then with the University of Roehampton in London. Heythrop will close at the end of the 2017/2018 academic year, but the future of its resources, most notably the library, have yet to be decided. There are 141 members of the British Jesuit Province.
Rose Gamble
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