Tablet World

The Jesuits are meeting in Rome and preparing to elect a new leader. The 215 delegates have come from all over the world in only their 36th gathering in nearly 500 years.

They have spent the first week looking at the state of the Society of Jesus and how best it can meet the needs of the world today. 

Some 60 per cent of the Jesuits now come from the global south, with the largest number from Asia, while the number of vocations in Europe is shrinking. The number of members in the Americas is relatively stable. 

The Tablet has been talking to some of the delegates about their ministry and the issues they consider most urgent:

 

 

FROM THE ENDS OF THE EARTH AND BACK AGAIN

  

The Society of Jesus gathers in Rome tomorrow, for only its thirty-sixth general meeting in nearly 500 years, to elect a new leader and to rethink its global mission. Fr Francisco de Roux, 70, is being spoken of – at least by some of his fellow Colombian Jesuits – as a possible successor to the Spaniard Fr Adolfo Nicolás, writes Austen Ivereigh

 

THE THIRTY-SIXTH GENERAL CONGREGATION

AD MAIOREM DEI GLORIAM
Modern communications technology means that Jesuits meeting for their thirty-sixth General Congregation are better prepared than ever for discerning the promptings of the Holy Spirit on the  important matters facing them, writes Paul Nicholson SJ

 

‘AUDACITY AND HUMILITY’
The Master of the Dominican Order, Fr Bruno Cadoré, gave the congregation of the Society of Jesus some sage advice ahead of the election of a new leader in Rome, writes Elena Curti at the opening Mass at the Jesuit Mother Church, the Gesù

 

 

 

MANTLE OF ST IGNATIUS: HOW TO PICK A LEADER FOR THE JESUITS

  

Representatives meeting in the Aula of the Jesuit Curia, just steps from the Vatican, to elect a new Superior General will participate in a process akin to a papal conclave, complete with singing “Veni Creator Spiritus”. A former participant explains the method of voting..

 

MEET THE MEMBERS OF THE CONGREGATION - part one

STRATEGY OVER NUMBERS
Fr Antonio Moreno, the Prior Provincial in the Philippines, tell Christopher Lamb that the order must worry less about numbers and more on strategy

 

SOCIAL JUSTICE
Fr Leonard Chiti, director of the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection in Lusaka, Zambia, tells Elena Curti that the order should focus more on social justice

 

 

COLUMNISTS AND LEADERS

EDUCATION IS STILL THE JESUIT CHARISM
The Tablet leader
Teaching still dominates the work of the Society of Jesus with 70 per cent of the worldwide society involved in education of some sort.

 

MEET THE MEMBERS OF THE CONGREGATION - part two

SPOTLIGHT ON SOUTH ASIA
Fr George Pattery SJ exclusively tells The Tablet that the great strength of South Asia's communities is that of being at home with other religions, cultures and numerous languages, writes Elena Curti

 

A CHURCH IN CHINA
Establishing good relations in China is still a dream for the Jesuits 400 years after St Francis Xavier died, Society of Jesus’ current leader in China, Fr John Lee Hua, tells Elena Curti

 

 

OTHER NEWS AND FEATURES

£100M HEYTHROP COLLEGE PUT UP FOR SALE BY JESUITS
Property experts believe that any developer who buys the prime site in Kensington, south-west London could make up to £300m from private homes, reports Sean Smith.

WE WOULD NOW DIAGNOSE THE 1522 IGNATIUS AS BEING AN AT-RISK SELF-HARMER
Nowadays we would diagnose the founder of the Society of Jesus as suffering from an acute depressive disorder exhibiting suicidal behaviour, writes Richard Leonard.

SPEECH BY POPE FRANCIS TO MEMBERS OF THE 36TH GENERAL CONGREGATION

Pope Francis addressed his Jesuit brothers telling them what the Church needs 

 

FOLLOWING THE TRAIL OF THE JESUITS

  

Rome has a special place in the hearts of the members of the Society of Jesus who are meeting there to elect a new leader and consider the state of the order and its work. They are praying, pondering and debating in a city full of the tangible fabric of their history, writes Elena Curti