Superior General of the Society of Jesus

Superior Generals of the Society of Jesus - includes images, dates of service, and if applicable, feast days.

Father Adolfo Nicolás
Father General
30th Superior General of the Society of Jesus (January 19, 2008 to present)

On January 19, 2008, Father Adolfo Nicolás, SJ, moderator of the East Asian Assistancy, was elected 30th Superior General of the Society of Jesus.  Adolfo Nicolás Pachón, 71 years old, is the seventh General of the Society of Jesus of Spanish Nationality.

EARLY YEARS:

Born on April 29, 1936, in Villamuriel de Cerrato (Palencia province), Spain, about 4 miles from the capital city Palencia. Baptized in the local parish.

He is the third of four brothers (Antonio, Félix, Adolfo and José). His father Adolfo originated from the province of Burgos and his mother Modesta hailed from the small town Villalaco in the Palencia province.

His father, a military professional, was transferred to Barcelona when Adolfo was 4 years old. There Adolfo attended the Jaime Balmes Institute for his 1st year of high school [a seven year program at that time in Spain]. He did his 2nd and 3rd year at the Christian Brothers school in Barcelona. In 1949 he transferred to what was then the Minor Seminary of Saint Joseph that the Tarraconense Province (S.J.) had in the town of Roquetas del Mar and he did his 4th year of high school there. A fruit of his stay in that region, apart of the good friends he still stays in touch with, was a good command of the Catalan language (he actually won a Catalan language contest in his parish).

In 1950 his father was transferred to Madrid and Adolfo completed his remaining three years of secondary education at the Jesuit’s Areneros high school, graduating in 1953 with the highest distinction the school granted, that of “príncipe”.

YOUTH:

On September 15, 1953 he entered the Jesuit novitiate in Aranjuez in what was then the Province of Toledo. His philosophy studies were done in Alcala de Henares, obtaining in Ph.L. in 1960. He then left for Japan for language studies.

In 1964-1968 he studied theology in Tokyo and was ordained priest there on March 17, 1967. From 1968 to 1971 he did his doctoral work at the Gregorian and wrote his doctoral dissertation, Theology of Progress.

In 1971 he became Professor of Systematic Theology at Sophia University in Tokyo. From 1978 to 1984 he was director of the Pastoral Institute in Manila , Philippines. This Institute was formed after the Vatican II to work on aggiornamento and has had wide influence in the theological renewal of all of Asia. Asian bishops and novice directors received their formation there.

From 1991 to 1993 he was Rector of the house of Jesuit students in Tokyo. In 1993 he was made Provincial of Japan and in that capacity he attended GC34 in 1995, where on the first ballot he was elected secretary of the Congregation.

After those years in governance, he moved to a poor parish of immigrants in Tokyo and lived there from 2000 to 2003. His work was difficult, but he was able to help thousands of Filipino and Asian immigrants, in the process gaining a first hand experience of their suffering. In this way his love for the poor and oppressed became his most important ministry.

In 2004 he was again called to exercise governance ministry and he was named Moderator of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania. This means he was responsible for the entire region of South Asia, from Myanmar (Burma) to East Timor, including the newly formed China Province. During these years he was a firm supporter of the Jesuit presence in Vietnam and other countries.

He was made a member of the Coetus Previus (preparatory commission) of GC35 and on January 19, 2008 he was elected Superior General of the Society of Jesus.

He speaks six languages: Spanish, Catalan, Japanese, English, French and Italian.

 

[translated from the web page of the Province of Castille]

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Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach
Former Father General
29th Superior General of the Society of Jesus (September 3, 1983 - January 14, 2008)

Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach was born November 30, 1928, in Druten, a village northwest of Nijmegen, Holland. He attended Canisius College, Nijmegen, for his secondary studies where he concentrated on modern languages. On September 7, 1948, he entered the Jesuit novitiate at Mariendaal, Holland. Following philosophy studies, he went to Lebanon. He was ordained a priest in 1961.
     
After completing his doctoral studies in Armenian in 1967, Kolvenbach taught general and Oriental linguistics at La Haye (Holland), Paris, and the University of Saint Joseph in Beirut, Lebanon, where he also served as minister of Jesuit students. In 1969 he took his final vows and in 1971 he was transferred to the Vice-Province of the Middle East - an area of the world where he would serve for the next decade. In 1974, he became provincial of the Vice Province of the Middle East and concurrently taught general linguistics and Armenian while conducting refugee work in Lebanon. He was appointed to the faculty of the Gregorian University in Rome in 1981 and also served as rector of the Pontifical Oriental Institute.
       
On September 13, 1983, he was elected 29th superior general of the Society of Jesus by the 33rd General Congregation. He has traveled extensively to visit the 22,000 Jesuits in 112 countries, and his knowledge of them and their ministries is legendary. His is a moderating and reflective voice in the Church, in the consultations of Major Superiors and in the Society. His own expertise in the Middle East has made him particularly sensitive to efforts at reconciliation between Jews, Muslims and Christians. He has participated in numerous Synods including the European Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the African Special Assembly, the Special Assembly for Lebanon and the Special Assembly of America.

On January 14, 2008, the 35th General Congregation accepted Kolvenbach's resignation as the Superior General of the Society of Jesus. After 25 years of service to the Society, Kolvenbach saw an opportunity of promise and renewal under a new Superior General's leadership. Likewise, he wished to retire from his post while still in good health.

Text of Resignation Statement to the General Congregation