Jesuit Formation

First vows and new vocations

Submitted on June 18, 2013 - 11:57 pm

As vocations fall in many provinces around the world, the Society of Jesus continues to receive good numbers for vocations in Vietnam.

On May 31, the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 15 Vietnamese men took their first vows of chastity, poverty and obedience as Jesuits. Fr Provincial Joseph Pham Thanh Liem SJ presided over the vow Mass held at the Epiphany Church of the Society of Jesus. The celebration included 35 concelebrants, many Jesuits, family and friends of the men taking vows, benefactors and lay collaborators of the Society.

A clear and obvious blessing

Submitted on May 26, 2013 - 1:02 pm

It was the moment in which the Society of Jesus finally came to life in Myanmar: the ordination of the country’s first ever Jesuit priest, Fr Wilbert Mireh SJ. Watching on among the throngs of faithful who packed Christ the King Cathedral in Loikaw, in Kayah State in the country’s east on May 1, Myanmar scholastic William-Paul gave quiet thanks for an event whose implications would reverberate far beyond the people who had gathered here to witness it.

Receiving the spirit of peace

Submitted on May 26, 2013 - 12:23 pm

Days after the ordination of Myanmar’s first Jesuit priest, three young men took their first vows in Taunggyi, reflecting the Jesuit revival that began when the Society returned to the country in 1998.

Novices John Bosco Oo, Saw John Paul Thurein and Peter Mwe Aung Seng were surrounded by their families as they took their vows at the Holy Infant Jesus parish in the grounds of Payaphyu, an orphanage and home for the handicapped in Taunggyi in Shan State on May 5. The Jesuit novitiate is located in the same compound.  

Looking forward

 "The beginning of the year is a time for thinking afresh. Even if our body is ageing, our thinking can be evergreen. God always thinks freshly, because God is young, and always in the present. When we read the Gospels, we see that Jesus lived totally in the present. He was open to the emerging moment.... It's exciting to be able to live like that." 

From the Sacred Space website.

Ready to be Sent

Jesuits are branded as intellectuals. A Jesuit told me that he once met a young man who wanted to join the Society but thought that he was not smart enough.  The Jesuit’s response was “Do not worry about becoming a Jesuit intellectual. You will soon find out there are in fact only a few of us.”

President’s Report on 2012

In 2012, we began to see dreams and plans become reality.  Nowhere was that more obvious than in Timor-Leste with the ground breaking in July for an educational institute. Over subsequent months the first buildings were erected, the first students selected to begin at level 7 in the secondary school that is the first part of the institute, and the first cadre of teachers were introduced to Ignatian pedagogy.  

JCAP annual report 2013

Submitted on April 29, 2013 - 12:05 am

The Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific has published its 2013 annual report, Jesuits in Asia Pacific 2013.  

The document offers Jesuits, collaborators and friends a report by Conference President Fr Mark Raper SJ on 2012, articles on four key areas for the Conference that year - education, formation, spirituality and international works, and a brief look forward to 2013.

Encounters in Myanmar

Submitted on April 27, 2013 - 3:36 pm

Korean Scholastic Benedict Kim Kundong SJ shares his encounters with people and places in a trip he made around Myanmar, after his regency in Yangon.

EATEP 2013

Submitted on March 23, 2013 - 10:50 pm

This year’s East Asia Theological Encounter Programme (EATEP) will be held from August 1 to 24.  

EATEP is a Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific programme that adds to the theological formation of young Jesuits.  It focuses on Asia theology, inculturation of the Catholic faith and inter-religious dialogue, and includes an immersion experience in Buddhism.  It is held at the Seven Fountains Spirituality Centre in ChiangMai, Thailand.

JCAP Report – January 2013

Submitted on January 28, 2013 - 9:21 pm

If the JCAP major superiors needed a reminder of the extent of and differences in our Conference, the last two locations for our biannual meeting certainly provided that.   The island Republic of Palau, population 20,600, is a vastly different locale from that of our previous assembly held last July in Macau, a part of China, population over 1.4 billion.

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