General Congregation

Last updated
Building of the General Curia of the Jesuit order on Borgo Santo Spirito in Rome, with the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the background Curia Generalis.jpg
Building of the General Curia of the Jesuit order on Borgo Santo Spirito in Rome, with the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the background

The General Congregation is an assembly of the Jesuit representatives from all parts of the world, and serves as the highest authority in the Society of Jesus. A General Congregation (GC) is always summoned on the death or resignation of the administrative head of the order, called the Superior General or Father General, [1] to choose his successor, and it may be called at other times if circumstances warrant. A smaller congregation of worldwide representatives meets every three years to discuss internal business and to decide the need for a general congregation.

Contents

Congregations

Through its four-century history, the Society has convened 36 general congregations.[ citation needed ]

First General Congregation

The first General Congregation took place in 1558, when Father Diego Laynez was elected Superior General. It had been delayed for two years after St. Ignatius’ death because of a war between King Philip II of Spain and Pope Paul IV. [2]

General Congregation 5

General Congregation 5 took place in 1593-4. [3]

General Congregation 27

General Congregation 27 took place in 1923. [3]

General Congregation 31

General Congregation 31 met during 1965 and 1966, meeting initially for several months, from 7 May to 17 July 1965, then breaking off for over a year and then reconvening for two more months from 8 September to 17 November 1966. [2] GC31 issued 56 decrees and elected Pedro Arrupe as the 28th Superior General. [4]

General Congregation 32

General Congregation 32 was held between 1974–75. In particular, Decrees 2 and 4 of the congregation highlighted a Jesuit commitment to "the crucial struggle of our time: the struggle for faith and that struggle for justice which it includes". [5] [6]

General Congregation 33

General Congregation 33 in 1983 elected Peter Hans Kolvenbach as Superior General. [2] It reaffirmed the commitment of the previous congregation to the promotion of justice as an integral part of all its ministries in the service of faith, and extended this commitment to refugee populations. In this it was following up on Superior General Pedro Arrupe's founding of the Jesuit Refugee Service in 1980. [7] It also emphasized the importance of inculturation of the church in non-Western cultures, in part due to the large number of delegates coming from various parts of Africa and Asia with, unlike previous congregations, eighteen of the twenty-one delegates from India being native Indians. [7]

General Congregation 34

General Congregation 34 took place in 1995. For the first time in Jesuit history, the majority of delegates did not come from Europe and the United States. It endorsed a justice-based mission mindful of the needs of the poor and marginal. It called for understanding differing cultures on their own terms and openness to other religious traditions. As religious vocations had continued to decline, there was an emphasis on enabling others to serve, with specific emphasis on the laity and on women. [8] [9]

General Congregation 35

General Congregation 35 took place in Rome between 7 January and 6 March 2008. [10] Adolfo Nicolás was elected as the new Father General. Pope Benedict XVI confirmed and applauded the Society's efforts to venture into the "new frontiers" of our time, [11] which included globalization, new technologies, and environmental concerns, even as the previous themes of promotion of justice and care for refugees are reiterated, [12] along with the need to pass on to the laity the Jesuit charism through the Spiritual Exercises and the practice of communal discernment. [13]

General Congregation 36

General Congregation 36 was called in 2016 after Adolfo Nicolás had announced his resignation, and it elected Arturo Sosa as Superior General to replace him. Taking its cue from Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato si', it emphasized that poverty, social exclusion, and marginalization are linked with environmental degradation. [14] In the second of its two decrees it called for greater commitment to discernment, collaboration, and networking, for a broader process for evaluating the Society's current apostolic preferences which included lay colleagues in the discernment. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesuits</span> Male religious congregation of the Catholic Church

The Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits, is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola and six companions, with the approval of Pope Paul III. The society is engaged in evangelization and apostolic ministry in 112 nations. Jesuits work in education, research, and cultural pursuits. Jesuits also conduct retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes, sponsor direct social and humanitarian ministries, and promote ecumenical dialogue.

<i>Regimini militantis Ecclesiae</i>

Regimini militantis Ecclesiae was the papal bull promulgated by Pope Paul III on September 27, 1540, which gave a first approval to the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, but limited the number of its members to sixty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesuit Refugee Service</span>

The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is an international Catholic organisation with a mission to accompany, serve, and advocate on behalf of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons, that they may heal, learn, and determine their own future. Founded in November 1980 as a work of the Society of Jesus, JRS was officially registered on 19 March 2000 in Vatican City as a foundation. The impetus to found JRS came from the then superior general of the Jesuits, Pedro Arrupe, who was inspired to action by the plight of Vietnamese boat people. JRS has programmes in over 50 countries. The areas of work are in the field of education, emergency assistance, health care, livelihoods, reconciliation, and psychosocial support. JRS is also involved in advocacy and human rights work. This involves ensuring that refugees are afforded their full rights as guaranteed by the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and working to strengthen the protection afforded to Internally displaced persons (IDPs). JRS's international headquarters is located in Rome at the Society's General Curia. The International Director is Rev. Thomas H. Smolich SJ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedro Arrupe</span> Spanish Jesuit priest and 28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus

Pedro Arrupe Gondra, SJ was a Spanish Basque priest who served as the 28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus from 1965 to 1983. He has been called a second founder of the Society, as he led the Jesuits in the implementation of the Second Vatican Council, especially with regard to faith that does justice and preferential option for the poor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudio Acquaviva</span> Italian priest

Claudio Acquaviva, SJ was an Italian Jesuit priest. Elected in 1581 as the fifth Superior General of the Society of Jesus, he has been referred to as the second founder of the Jesuit order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superior General of the Society of Jesus</span> Leader of the Society of Jesus

The superior general of the Society of Jesus is the leader of the Society of Jesus, the Catholic religious order also known as the Jesuits. He is generally addressed as Father General. The position sometimes carries the nickname of the Black Pope, because of his responsibility for the largest male religious order, in contrast with the white garb of the pope. The thirty-first and current superior general is Fr Arturo Sosa, elected by the 36th General Congregation on 14 October 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Martín</span>

Luis Martín García was a Spanish Jesuit, elected the twenty-fourth Superior General of the Society of Jesus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Hans Kolvenbach</span> Superior General of the Society of Jesus (1928–2016)

Peter Hans Kolvenbach was a Dutch Jesuit priest and professor who was the 29th superior general of the Society of Jesus, the largest male Catholic religious order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Baptiste Janssens</span>

Jean-Baptiste Janssens was a Belgian Jesuit priest who was the 27th Superior General of the Society of Jesus. He was born in Mechelen, Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Companions of the Cross</span>

The Companions of the Cross, abbreviated C.C. is a Catholic society of apostolic life of Diocesan Right for men based in Ottawa, Ontario. It is a community of Roman Catholic priests that is Eucharistic, Charismatic, Marian and Magisterial. It was founded by Fr. Robert Bedard, C.C. in 1985 and was approved in 2003 by the Vatican as a Society of Apostolic Life. Fr. Roger Vandenakker, CC is currently serving as the community's General Superior.

In the Catholic Church, a canonical visitation is the act of an ecclesiastical superior who in the discharge of his office visits persons or places with a view to maintaining faith and discipline and of correcting abuses. A person delegated to carry out such a visitation is called a visitor. When, in exceptional circumstances, the Holy See delegates an apostolic visitor "to evaluate an ecclesiastical institute such as a seminary, diocese, or religious institute [...] to assist the institute in question to improve the way in which it carries out its function in the life of the Church," this is known as an apostolic visitation.

The option for the poor, or the preferential option for the poor, is one of the newer principles of the Catholic social teaching, as articulated in the latter half of the 20th century; it is also a theological emphasis in Methodism. The concept was first articulated within Latin American liberation theology, and was championed by many Latin American Christian democratic parties at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adolfo Nicolás</span> Spanish Catholic priest (1936–2020)

Adolfo Nicolás Pachón was a Spanish Jesuit priest of the Catholic Church. He was the 30th Superior General of the Society of Jesus from 2008 to 2016. Before being elected Superior General, he worked primarily in Japan; he taught at Sophia University in Tokyo for twenty years and then headed educational institutions in Manila from 1978 to 1984 and in Tokyo from 1991 to 1993. He led the Jesuits in Japan from 1993 to 1996 and, after four years of pastoral work in Tokyo, led the Jesuits in Asia from 2004 to 2008.

Paolo Dezza, S.J. was an Italian Jesuit cardinal who led the Pontifical Gregorian University during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII, whom he aided in the preparation of the dogma of the Assumption of Mary. He was confessor to Pope Paul VI and Paul's successor, Pope John Paul I, and was a teacher of Pope John Paul I's successor, Pope John Paul II.

Father Vincent O'Keefe S.J. was the Vicar General of the Society of Jesus and a President of Fordham University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic laity</span> Ordinary members of the Catholic Church who are not clergy

Catholic laity are the ordinary members of the Catholic Church who are neither clergy nor recipients of Holy Orders or vowed to life in a religious order or congregation. Their mission, according to the Second Vatican Council, is to "sanctify the world".

Jean-Yves Calvez was a French Jesuit, theologian, philosopher, economist, expert in Marxism and professor of social philosophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centre justice et foi</span>

Centre justice et foi, abbreviated to CJF, is a centre for social analysis in Montreal. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1983 and publishes the magazine Relation. It is situated on the corner of Saint Laurent Boulevard and Jarry Street opposite Jarry Park.

Giuseppe Pittau was a Roman Catholic titular archbishop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arturo Sosa</span> Venezuelan priest (born 1948)

Arturo Marcelino Sosa Abascal is a Venezuelan Catholic priest who serves as the 31st and present superior general of the Society of Jesus. He was elected Superior General by the Society's 36th General Congregation on 14 October 2016, succeeding Adolfo Nicolás. He is the first person born in Latin America to lead the Jesuits.

References

  1. ↑ Jesuit Curia in Rome, Father General, accessed 11 September 2018
  2. 1 2 3 Jesuits, General Congregation 36, accessed 26 November 2018
  3. 1 2 Manresa Jesuit Centre of Spirituality, Formula of the Institute, accessed 29 February 2020
  4. ↑ Boston College, General Congregation 31, accessed 27 November 2018
  5. ↑ "Decree 2: "Jesuits Today," General Congregation 32 (1975)". The Portal to Jesuit Studies. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  6. ↑ "Decree 4: "Our Mission Today: The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice," General Congregation 32 (1975)". Portal to Jesuit Studies. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  7. 1 2 O’Malley, John W. (7 October 2012). "The Jesuits' Congregation: A Historical View: From November 19, 1983". America Magazine. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  8. ↑ "Decree 13: "Cooperation with the Laity in Mission," General Congregation 34 (1995)". The Portal to Jesuit Studies. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  9. ↑ "Decree 14: "Jesuits and the Situation of Women in Church and Civil Society," General Congregation 34 (1995)". The Portal to Jesuit Studies. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  10. ↑ General Congregation 35, accessed 10 September 2008
  11. ↑ GC35, Decree 1, accessed 10 September 2008
  12. ↑ Traub, SJ, George. "Jesuit Resource - Jesuit A-Z - General Congregation 35". www.xavier.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  13. ↑ "Collaboration at the Heart of Mission, GC 35, Decree 6" (PDF). 2008.
  14. ↑ "GC 36, Decree 1, no. 29: Companions in a Mission of Reconciliation and Justice" . Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  15. ↑ "GC 36, Decree 2, nos. 27, 14: Renewed Governance for Renewed Mission" (PDF). 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.