- Adolfo Nicolás
Infobox Person
name = Adolfo Nicolás Pachón
caption = Adolfo Nicolás, Superior General of the Jesuits
birth_date = Birth date and age|1936|4|29
birth_place =Villamuriel de Cerrato ,Spain
death_date =
death_place =
other_names =
known_for =
occupation =Superior General of the Society of Jesus
nationality = Spanish"Reverend Father" Adolfo Nicolás Pachón, S.J., S.T.D. (born
April 29 ,1936 ) is a Spanish priest of theRoman Catholic Church . He is the thirtieth and current Superior General of theSociety of Jesus , the largest male religious order of theRoman Catholic Church .Biography
Adolfo Nicolás was born in
Villamuriel de Cerrato , Palencia, and entered theSociety of Jesus , more commonly known as the Jesuits, in thenovitiate ofAranjuez in 1953 cite web |url=http://www.sjweb.info/35/newsShow.cfm?PubID=12375 |title=Election press release: Biographical Notes |accessdate=2008-01-24 |author= |date=2008-01-19 |publisher=Jesuit Press and Information Office |language=Italian|quote= "29 aprile 1936: nasce a Palencia, Spagna; 15 settembre 1953: Entra nel noviziato di Aranjuez della Provincia Toletana (Spagna); 1958-1960: Licenza in Filosofia (Alcalá, Madrid);1964-1968: Teologia a Tokyo, Giappone; 17 marzo 1967: ordinato Sacerdote a Tokyo, Giappone; 1968-1971: Master in teologia sacra alla Pontificia Università Gregoriana, Roma; 1971: Professore di Teologia Sistematica alla Sophia University di Tokyo, Giappone; 1978-1984: Direttore Istituto Pastorale di Manila (Filippine); 1991-1993: Rettore dello Scolasticato (Tokyo, Giappone); 1993-1999: Provinciale della Provincia di Giappone; 2004-2007: Moderatore della Conferenza Gesuita dell’Asia Orientale e Oceania". ] . He studied at theUniversity of Alcalá , there earning hislicentiate inphilosophy , until 1960, whence he traveled toJapan to familiarize himself withJapanese language and culture. Nicolás enteredSophia University inTokyo , where he studiedtheology , in 1964, and was later ordained to the priesthood onMarch 17 1967 .From 1968 to 1971, he studied at the
Pontifical Gregorian University inRome , from where he obtained his Master's degree in theology, and later earned a doctorate in theology. Upon his return to Japan, Nicolás was madeprofessor ofsystematic theology at his "alma mater " of Sophia University, teaching there for the next thirty years.He was Director of the
East Asian Pastoral Institute at theAteneo de Manila University , inQuezon City ,Philippines , from 1978 to 1984 [http://www.jesuits.ph/articles/gc35(19jan)d Fr. Adolfo Nicolas elected Superior General of the Jesuits] ] , and later served asrector of the theologate in Tokyo from 1991 to 1993, when he was appointed Provincial of the Jesuit Province of Japan. Nicolás remained in this post until 1999, and then spent three years doing pastoral work among poor immigrants in Tokyo. In 1998 he clashed with the Vatican when he and severalAsia n bishops requested for more local authority for Church decisions [TIME Magazine. [http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1705399,00.html Will the New "Black Pope" Work?]January 19 2008 ] .In 2004 he returned to the Philippines after he was named
Moderator of the Jesuit Conference forEastern Asia andOceania [http://www.jceao.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=26 JCEAO - About JCEAO ] ] . As Moderator, he was responsible for the Jesuits of several countries, includingAustralia ,China , Japan,Korea ,Micronesia ,Myanmar , andEast Timor .On the second ballot of the thirty-fifth
General Congregation (GC XXXV) of the Society of Jesus, Nicolás was elected as the Order’s thirtieth Superior General onJanuary 19 2008 , succeeding the Dutch Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach. His election was immediately relayed toPope Benedict XVI , who confirmed him in the post. Many have marked the similarities between Nicolás and former Superior General Fr. Pedro Arrupe, who was also a Spanishmissionary in Japan; Nicolás has described Arrupe, of whom he was once the personalbarber , as a "great missionary, a national hero, a man on fire" [Whispers in the Loggia. [http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2008/01/second-arrupe-on-first.html The "Second Arrupe" on the First]January 20 2008 ] . He leads a congregation which currently numbers 19,126 members. [ [http://catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11507 catholicnewsagency.com, Spaniard Adolfo Nicolás elected new Superior General of the Jesuits] ]In addition to his native Spanish, Nicolás can speak English, Italian, French, and Japanese.
Beliefs and values
He once stated, "Asia has a lot yet to offer the Church, to the whole Church, but we haven't done it yet. Maybe we have not been courageous enough, or we haven't taken the risks we should"cite news |first=Michael |last=McVeigh |coauthors= |title=Father Adolfo Nicolás |url=http://www.express.org.au/article.aspx?aeid=2305 |publisher=Province Express |date=2007-02-27 |accessdate=2008-01-21 ] . In an article on Fr. Nicolas, Michael McVeigh said that Nicolás has also expressed his wariness of missionaries who are more concerned with teaching and imposing orthodoxy than in having a cultural experience with the local people, saying, "Those who enter into the lives of the people, they begin to question their own positions very radically."
A month before the
General Congregation that would eventually elect him, Fr. Nicolas described the General Congregation as "an event of the heart." It is "a time of intensive search and of exhilarating exchange, where questions and answers do not come lineally, but dance within us and around us, at the rhythm of fraternal and humble mutual openness." According to him, "My hope is that this happens to the whole Society of Jesus." He then emphasized that "Prayer, reflection and exchange are the gift and the contribution."cite news |first=Michael |last=Kelly, S.J. |title=What should GC35 do? |url=http://www.express.org.au/article.aspx?aeid=3921 |publisher=Province Express |date=2007-12-12 |accessdate=2008-01-21 ]After asking why "we elicit so much admiration and so little following," he stated that one of his hopes is for the Jesuits to "begin a process of dynamic and open reflection on our religious life that might begin a process of re-creation of the Society for our times, not only in the quality of our services, but also and mostly in the quality of our personal and community witness to the Church and the World."
According to Father Paolo Molinari, the Postulator General of the Society of Jesus, Nicolas was the "optimal choice" for Superior General. Molinari views him as someone with "excellent theological formation and a great missionary spirit." "In regard to his kind of formation and the service he has done, he seems precisely to respond to the indications of the Holy Father, Benedict XVI. Certainly he will help us to rediscover and reinforce the Christian roots of Europe and to witness to Christ in the whole world," stated Molinari. [http://www.zenit.org/article-21553?l=english New Jesuit Superior seen as "Optimal Choice", Zenit News Agency] ]
In the homily of the Mass celebrated after his election, Nicolas emphasized service, based on the scriptural reading for that day, the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola, and Benedict XVI's teaching on God is love. He stated: "The more we become as servants, the more pleased God is."
Delving further on the scriptural passage and after relating an anecdote of experiences with the poor in Asia, he related poverty with having God as the only source of strength, pointing out that the Jesuit's strength is not in externals (power, media, etc.) nor in internal fortitude (research). "The poor only have God in whom to find strength. For us only God is our strength."
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