After several weeks of discussion and discernment, the Jesuit order
has elected Fr. Arturo Sosa as their new Superior General, who will be
taking over after the resignation of their former leader, Fr. Adolfo
Nicolás.
Former head of the Venezuelan Jesuit province, Fr. Sosa entered the Society of Jesus in 1966 and was ordained a priest in 1977.
He has obtained degrees in philosophy, theology and political
science, and was a member of the Social Center of the Venezuelan
province from 1977-1996, when he was appointed as Superior of the
Jesuits in Venezuela, guiding through the stormy waters of Hugo Chavez’s
dictatorship.
In 2004, he was named General Counselor of the Society of Jesus, a
position he held until 2011. He has until now served as president of the
University in the State of Táchira, a role he has also held since 2004.
Fr. Sosa’s election as the 31st General Superior of the Jesuits marks
the first time a Latin American has led the Society, and he takes the
helm under the Catholic Church’s first Jesuit and Latin American Pope.
Founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1540, the Society of Jesus
always holds a general congregation upon the death or resignation of the
Superior General in order to choose his successor. They can also be
called if the Superior sees the need to take action on a serious matter
that he either can’t or doesn’t want to decide on alone.
In this case, the Jesuits called their 36th General Congregation
after Fr. Adlofo Nicolás, from Spain, submitted his resignation at the
age of 80 after running the order for eight years.
Deliberations began Oct. 2 when 215 delegates from around the world
gathered at the Jesuit headquarters in Rome, located just a few feet
from the Vatican. Out of the total 215 delegates, 212 participated in
the voting.
On Oct. 10 participants began the centuries-old practice of the
“murmuratio,” which is a four-day process of one-on-one conversations
and information gathering aimed at preparing for the election by
discussing the merits of the various candidates.
Jesuits – who in addition to making the usual vows of poverty,
chastity and obedience – make additional special vow of obedience to the
Pope “in regards to mission,” and swear an oath to never seek higher
offices within the Church. Thus, any Jesuit who discovers someone
campaigning must report them immediately.
However, while they are not allowed to pursue positions of authority,
their vow of obedience to the Pope means they must submit when he
calls. Such was the case with Pope Francis, who was named auxiliary
bishop and then Archbishop of Buenos Aires by St. John Paul II.
The Church’s first Jesuit Pope, Francis entered his novitiate with
the Society of Jesus in 1958. He received a philosophy degree in 1963
and spent the next three years teaching literature and psychology.
The now-Bishop of Rome then studied theology from 1967 to 1970,
during which time he was ordained a priest. His priestly ordination was
Dec. 13, 1969.
He did the final state of Jesuit formation from 1970 to 1971, and was
novice master at the Jesuit seminary in San Miguel, a Buenos Aires
suburb, from 1972 to 1973, where he taught theology.
In 1973, he made his perpetual vows in the Society, and that year was
elected provincial for Argentina. After his time as provincial, from
1980 to 1986, he served as rector of the seminary at San Miguel, where
he had studied, and was pastor of a parish in the city.
He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992, Archbishop
in 1998, elevated as a cardinal in 2001, and elected to the papacy
March 13, 2013.