Jesuit General Nicolas plans to resign next year
Many have marked the similarities between Nicolas and former Superior General Pedro Arrupe.
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Father Nicolas, now 78, was elected as the Order’s thirtieth Superior General on 19 January 2008, succeeding the Dutch Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach.
He will be the third General in the history to resign. The previous General, Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, did that at the 35th General Congregation in 2008.
His predecessor Father General, Father Pedro Arrupe, submitted his request for resignation several times to Pope St. John Paul II who finally approved it only after Fr. Arrupe was severely handicapped by a massive stroke.
Many have marked the similarities between Nicolas and former Superior General Pedro Arrupe.
Father Arrupe, like his eventual successor, was a Spanish missionary in Japan. Nicolas has described Arrupe, whom he had earlier had as Provincial Superior, as a "great missionary, a national hero, a man on fire".
He leads a society of 18,500 Jesuits across the world.
Jesuit Generals are elected for life, according to the constitution of the congregation and therefore resignation and election of a General needs papal approval and special gathering of General Congregation.
After obtaining papal approval, the General through a secret letter seek the opinion all the Jesuit provincials, who currently number 85. If majority of them the agree, he calls for a General Congregation which may accept or reject his offer to resign.
Father Nicolas has followed these steps, and has convoked the 36th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus (only #36 in more than 500 years!), set to meet in Rome on October 2, 2016.
Father Nicolas, wrote in a letter to the whole Society: "Reflecting on the coming years, I have reached the personal conviction that I should take the needed steps towards submitting my resignation to a General Congregation.”
Source: Jesuit Current, Thailand
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