Father General Adolfo Nicolás has been putting together his new team, naming his Regional Assistants as well as two General Counsellors.
Each assistancy was asked to put a list of three names forward, from which the Regional Assistants were chosen.
The Regional Assistants are (home province in brackets):
Fr Jean Roger Ndombi (West Africa) - Assistant of Africa
Fr Marcos Recolons (Bolivia) - Assistant of Southern Latin America
Fr Gabriel Ign. Rodríguez (Colombia) - Assistant of Northern Latin America
Fr Lisbert D'Souza (Bombay) - Assistant of South Asia
Fr Daniel Huang (Philippines) - Assistant of East Asia-Oceania
Fr Adam Zak (South Poland) - Assistant of Central Europe and Eastern Europe
Fr Joaquin Barrero (Castille) - Assistant of South Europe
Fr Antione Kerhuel (France) - Assistant of Western Europe
Fr James Grummer (Wisconsin) - Assistant of the United States of America
Two other Jesuits have been named General Counsellors, to advise the Father General on general matters.
They are Father Arturo Sosa (Venezuela) and Father Mark Rotsaert (North Belgium). Both will be non-resident counsellors, ie. members of the council who do not live in Rome.
Meanwhile, the General Congregation has elected the four Assistants ad providentiam for the Father General. They are, Fr Lisbert D'Souza, Fr James Grummer, Fr Federico Lombardi (Italy) and Fr Marcos Recolons. Their role, according to the Constitutions, is to assist the Father General on behalf of the society.
Fr Marcos Recolons has been elected admonitor of the Father General.
Discussion process
Discussion continues on various subjects put to the Congregation. Several commissions have been formed to prepare drafts on assigned subjects.
Once these drafts are ready, they will be presented in the General Congregation for questions and clarification. Each Assistancy group is given a chance to discuss the draft, and a representative briefly presents their comments in the General Congregation and/or submits a reaction in written form.
The commission examines the comments and suggestions and writes a second draft. The draft is reviewed prior to a vote in the General Congregation.
JRS Mass
The international office of the Jesuit Refugee Service organised a Mass and a reception for the delegates of the General Congregation.
Pictured above are three international directors of JRS and two generals (from left: Fr Peter Balleis, Fr Adolfo Nicolás, Fr Peter Hans Kolvenbach, Fr Mark Raper, and Fr Lluís Magriñá).
A sign of the times
It's good to see that the delegates at the General Congregation are keeping in good spirits, as the General Congregation enters its second month.
The following paragraph came from the 7 February edition of the Press Office's report:
‘At the end of the session, the Secretary of the Congregation, Fr Rotsaert, commented favourably on the efficient and expeditious process of the Congregation. If we continue in this way, he said, we may finish our work by 1 March. His remarks were received with a murmur, which some interpreted as a sign of approval while others thought that it was a sign of wishful thinking.'