The Provincial of the Irish Jesuits has been appointed as the new President of the Conference of European Provincials. Fr John Dardis will take office after the General Assembly of the Conference of European Provincials (CEP) in October 2010 in Bad SchÎnbrunn, Switzerland.
His term as Irish provincial ends on July 31 this year, after six years at the helm.
In the meantime, he will have to present a 'terna' or list of three, so that the Jesuit Father General can appoint a new provincial for the Irish Province.
In a statement to Jesuits, current CEP President Mark Rotsaert said: ''I will express my gratitude - and I am sure, your gratitude - for the availability of John Dardis. I am sure that he will take on this new responsibility with creativity and courage.''
Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Fr Dardis said: ''I am very happy to be given this new mission; it is a critical time in Europe.
''The Jesuit Provinces want to work together to deal with the common problems we have. How does faith confront and dialogue with secularism? How can we reach out to those on the margins? These are two of the critical issues and I feel privileged to be asked to play a role in helping Jesuit Provinces tackle these issues together,'' he said.
There are six Conferences of Provincials worldwide: Latin America and the Caribbean, United States, Europe, Africa and Madagascar, South Asia, East Asia, and Oceania.
Europe has 28 Provinces and a further two regions (Russia and the Maghreb).
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