Venezuelan Jesuit Father Arturo Sosa was just elected as the new head of the Jesuits. They gathered in Rome for their 36th General Congregation. Fr Sosa was chosen by the 212 electors representing about 17,000 Jesuits in countries around the world. He succeeds the 80 year old Fr Adolfo Nicolas who resigned in 2014.
1. The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu, S.J., SJ or SI) is a religious congregation of the Catholic Church they are also known as the Jesuits. The order was founded bay Ignatius of Loyola (from Spain) after being wounded in battle. He wrote the Spiritual Exercises to help people live the teachings of Jesus Christ.
2. The Order was approved by Pope Paul III in 1540 by a bull containing the "Formula of the Institute".
3. In 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the first Jesuit Pope, with the name Pope Francis.
4. The Jesuits form the largest single religious order of priests and brothers in the Catholic Church, In 2015 Jesuits numbered 16,740.
5. The Jesuit motto: Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam ("For the greater glory of God"). They believed that the reform of the Church should start with the conversion of an individual's heart. They employ a retreat, using the Spiritual Exercises. This involves a four-week period of silence, and directed meditations on the life of Christ.
OFFICIAL Release of the Jesuits:
Father Arturo Sosa SJ, 31st General of the Society of Jesus The 36th General Congregation has elected Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, of the Jesuit Province of Venezuela as Superior General. Father Sosa was born in Caracas, Venezuela on 12 November 1948. Until his election, Father Sosa has been Delegate for Interprovincial Houses of the Society in Rome, as well as serving on the General Council as a Counsellor. He obtained a licentiate in philosophy from l’Università Cattolica Andrés Bello in 1972. He later obtained a doctorate in Political Science from l’Università Centrale del Venezuela, in 1990. He speaks Spanish, Italian, English, and understands French. In 2008, during General Congregation 35, Father General Adolfo Nicolás appointed Father Arturo Sosa as General Counsellor, based in Venezuela. In 2014, Father Sosa joined the General Curia community and took on the role of Delegate for Interprovincial Roman Houses of the Society of Jesus in Rome, which include: the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Pontifical Biblical Institute, the Pontifical Oriental Institute, the Vatican Observatory, Civiltà Cattolica, as well as international Jesuit colleges in Rome. Between 1996 and 2004, Father Sosa was provincial superior of the Jesuits in Venezuela. Before that, he was the province coordinator for the social apostolate, during which time he was also director of Gumilla Social Centre, a centre for research and social action for the Jesuits in Venezuela. Father Arturo Sosa has dedicated his life to research and teaching. He has held different positions in academia. He has been a professor and member of the Council of the Andrés Bello Catholic Foundation and Rector of the Catholic University of Tachira. He has pursued research and teaching in the field of political science, in various centers and institutions, as the Chair of Contemporary Political Theory and the Department of Social Change in Venezuela at the Faculty of Social Sciences. . In 2004, he was invited as a visiting professor by the Latin American Studies Center at Georgetown University in the United States while he was a professor in the Department of Venezuelan political thought of the Catholic University of Tachira. While Father Sosa election as superior general completes one of the main tasks of GC 36, the group’s work is not over. Now the delegates will tackle matters of mission, governance and the state of the Society. Topics may range from the Society’s changing demographics to challenges in worldwide ministries, to the Jesuit response to a rapidly changing world, environmental concerns, poverty and violence.