Jesuits elect first Latin-American general

Austen Ivereigh
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

October 14, 2016



Father Arturo Sosa, 68, the new Venezuelan general of the Society of Jesus
The Jesuits' new general is a Venezuelan whose past curiously mirrors that of the first Jesuit pope


The Society of Jesus has elected its first Latin-American leader since its foundation in 1540, a Rome-based Venezuelan whose past curiously parallels that of the first Jesuit pope.

Like Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who steered his divided province through the 1970s Argentine dictatorship, Father Arturo Sosa SJ, 67, was Venezuelan provincial between 1996 and 2004, when there were tensions within his province over the dictatorship of Hugo Chávez.

Prior to his appointment as provincial, he was in charge of the social apostolate of the Jesuits in Venezuela, which includes the massive poor-school Jesuit network, Fe y Alegría. He was also head of the Centro Gumilla, the Jesuit-run social and action research center.

In an interview in 2014 he described the authoritarian regime of Chávez’s successor Nicolás Maduro as a “popular tyranny”.

As an expert in political science and political theory, who has taught and researched widely and who knows the Maduro regime at first hand, his election seems designed, in part, to bolster the Vatican’s mediation in the fast-deteriorating situation there.

Sosa, becomes the 31st superior general of the Jesuits, was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on November 12, 1948. He has a doctorate in Political Sciences from the Universidad Central de Venezuela, and speaks Spanish, Italian, and English.

Among his distinguished academic posts, he has served as member of the founding board of the Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas and rector of the Catholic University of Táchira. He has taught and researched political science in many different institutes and colleges, and in 2004 was a visiting professor at the Latin-American Studies Center of Georgetown University.

He has been serving since 2014 as the Delegate of the General for the International houses and Works of the Society of Jesus in Rome, meaning he has had responsibility for Jesuit formation and other houses, including the Jesuit headquarters, or General Curia and the Gregorian University.

Some 212 Jesuit electors from across the world, mostly delegated by the nearly 17,000 Jesuits worldwide, who this morning voted for Sosa following the resignation of Father Adolfo Nicolás.

It is not yet clear how many ballots it took to elect him, but the result was known after just a couple of hours. The Jesuit electors have spent this week in the murmuratio, discussing the merits of possible generals with each other.

Sosa is thought to the first Jesuit general to sport a moustache.

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Jesuits to elect ‘Black Pope’ today

Jonathan Rodrigues | TNN | 6 hours ago


Panaji: In Rome, a spiritual meeting is underway, as the Society of Jesus, a Catholic religious order founded by St Ignatius of Loyola, prepares to elect the Spaniard’s 30th successor — a new ‘Black Pope’. Representing 112 countries, 79 provinces and six continents, 215 members of the order have been involved in deep prayer and intense discussions at the 36th General Congregation (GC 36), held at the Jesuit Curia in Rome, and, on October 14, they will elect their new general.
India has the largest population of Jesuits in the world and there is strong feeling among the 3,000-odd Indian Jesuits that 476 years since its existence, the general may be one of their own. But, sources from inside the Jesuit Curia in Rome say that it could be a South American, considering that Christianity is more widespread and a bigger part of the local culture in Latin America than Asia.

The Catholic Church broke stereotypes by electing a non-European Pope, an Argentinian Jesuit — Jorge Bergoglio, in 2013, and by 4pm on Friday, the world will know if the Society of Jesus will take a similar plunge at its 36th General Congregation during which Jesuits will elect their new general, who is also called the Black Pope.

The election will take place after the delegates concelebrate the Eucharist at 7.30am in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Rome. The thirtieth and most recent Superior General is the Fr Adolfo Nicolás, who officially resigned on October 3, 2016.

What makes GC 36 special is that it's the first paper-less congregation. The Jesuits will digitally vote for their new general through a tablet.

Despite TOI’s several attempts to break down the code of silence and secrecy about who could be the next general of the largest religious order of the Catholic Church, conversations with the Jesuits failed to produce any name. “There is no point in speculating. Every time we speculate who it could be, it never matches the one chosen with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The 215 delegates in Rome can elect any one of them or someone out there in the world who is a professed Jesuit priest, having taken his fourth vow to the ChurchThe possibilities for anyone to be elected is roughly about one in 15,000. So, we have to just wait with bated breath and restrained excitement, spending time in prayer,” says Fr Cedric Prakash, a Gujarat-based Jesuit, who is currently on a mission in Beirut, Lebanon, as the advocacy and communications officer of the Jesuit Refugee Service.
The GC 36, which officially began on October 2, is in the most exciting stage called ‘murmaratio’, where the focus is on electing a new leader, through a process of intense prayer and great confidentiality. “A new general will bring in new leadership and inspiration to respond to the challenges facing the society and will reformulate the mission of the Society of Jesus in a language that appeal to younger Jesuits,” says Fr Anthony da Silva, former provincial of the Goa province of the Society of Jesus, who is currently based at the Xavier Centre for Historical Research, Porvorim.

Da Silva, who hails from Moira, was in Rome in March 2008, when the Jesuits gathered for GC 35 and he recounts his experience. “A few names start to surface at the beginning of the congregation and the next days are spent in getting to know better the people behind these names by having a one-on-one conversations with each of them. We could sit down for a coffee or share the same dining table, or just take a walk, but we discuss their vision for the society and explore their leadership capabilities. There is no debate or political lobbying or propaganda. On the election day, which is October 14 this year, there is this powerful spiritual feeling that will drive the congregation to narrow down on a couple of names, after which, we vote,” he says.
“The biggest challenges the Jesuits face in South Asia are growing instances of intolerance, exploitation and injustices. At the global level, some of our challenges include engaging ourselves in works of restoration, responding to the environmental crisis gripping our planet and humanely handling the refugee crisis in many parts of the world,” said scholastic Anderson Fernandes, a Jesuit from Margao, who is currently pursuing his theological studies at Vidyajyoti College of Theology, New Delhi.


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