Jesuit Superior General Fr Arturo Sosa, the Venezuelan head of the Society of Jesus, visited Australia to oversee a change of Jesuit leadership in the Asia-Pacific region. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
Fr Sosa is the 31st Superior General of the Society of Jesus, the largest religious order of priests and brothers in the Church, and is the third Superior General to visit Australia.
Fr Sosa presided over the Major Superiors Assembly of the Jesuit Conference of the Asia-Pacific, held from January 22 at Peter Canisius House in Pymble, Sydney.
Fr Tony Moreno SJ stepped down as president, passing the leadership to Fr Primitivo Viray Jr SJ – both Filipinos.
On January 24, Fr Sosa spoke to supporters of Jesuit Mission Australia alongside the charity’s chief executive, Helen Forde, and Jesuit major superiors from Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand and Timor-Leste, who spoke about the situations in their own countries and the impact of Jesuit Mission’s good works.
“We are providing not only education but holistic formation to youth where their values, culture, and spirituality are grounded,” said Fr Erik John Gerilla SJ, Regional Superior of Timor-Leste, in reference to the Jesuit education institutions there, which are forming thousands of students and trainee teachers to be the next leaders and change-makers of their country.
Fr Sosa insisted that the “mission does not belong to the Jesuits,” but to all Christians working together.
“The Society of Jesus cannot exist and cannot have as long a history as it has without your generosity, without those who support and have been partners in this mission,” he said.
Fr Sosa met parishioners, volunteers and patrons at St Canice’s Kitchen on January 29, one of Sydney’s most dynamic parishes known for its charitable outreach.
FULL STORY
Jesuit Superior visits Australia for Asia-Pacific handover (The Catholic Weekly)
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