Father General

– Trip to Croatia and Hungary. From the 4th to the 9th of September Father General visited Croatia and Hungary to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of these two Provinces.

In Croatia he visited Zagreb where he met young Jesuits in formation (in their new building blessed by Father General), the Jesuits who are sick and elderly, and the Jesuit professors of our Philosophical Faculty and those of our School of Economics and Business Administration. In addition, Father Nicolás met with mayor of Zagreb; he paid a visit to Cardinal Josip Bozanic and held a press conference with journalists and representatives of catholic media. The visit ended with a solemn Mass in Sacred Heart Church; during the Eucharist two Jesuits pronounced their vows. On September 6th Father General travelled to Budapest by car.

The visit to Hungary was centered in Budapest and Miskolc. Father General met the members of the Hungarian province as well as a number of Jesuits from Slovakia, Slovenia, Rumania and Croatia celebrating Mass with them in the church of the Sacred Heart with a large number of thefaithful participating. September 7th was devoted to a Province Assembly celebrating the anniversary of the province’s foundation. The topics discussed included: the present reality of the province, its apostolic commitments and future commitments. Later, in the presence of Hungarian Jesuits, their collaborators and the representatives of the Ignatian Family, Father Nicolás spoke about the universal Society of Jesus after General Congregation 35. Following the Assembly, Father Nicolás traveled to the town of Miskolc in northern Hungary; it suffers a high rate unemployment rate due to the closure of several large factories following the collapse of the communist regime. In this city the Society opened a college in 1994 serving now more than 500 students. The purpose of the school is to offer students a high level education in a region that provides them little chance for advancement. Father General blessed a new College building. In addition to the college, the Jesuits administer a parish that focuses on ecumenical collaboration with the Greek Orthodox and Protestant Churches. The day ended with a visit to Saint Ignatius College. The final day of the visit he met with Cardinal Péter Erdö, President of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference and of the European Catholic Bishops’ Conference; at the Bishops’ Conference Meeting Father Nicolás gave a brief talk.

– Trip to Ireland. Father General visited the Irish Province from the 10th to the 14th of September. He arrived in Dublin in the afternoon and traveled to Shannon for a meeting with the Province Consultors. The following day was devoted to the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Crescent College Comprehensive in Limerick: visiting the school, meeting with the parents of the students, the board and senior pupils; holding a question & answer session following the speech of Father Nicolás. In the afternoon he met with the Jesuit Refugee Service and some refugees before returning to Dublin for an evening meeting with the “Strategic Committee” that is carrying on negotiations with Trinity College of Dublin about setting up an Institute of Catholic Theology within the state university. The schedule for the weekend, 12 and 13 September, was quite ambitious: a visit to Gonzaga College; a meeting with the “Ignatian family” and Jesuits at work in various apostolates; a visit to Milltown Institute of Philosophy and Theology, followed by a Mass and a meeting with novices, with those responsible for communication for the Irish Province and with families and friends of the Society in Gardiner Street. The afternoon of September 13th Father Nicolás left for Belfast, Northern Ireland to meet the local Jesuit community and an invited group from the University of Ulster. On September 14th he returned to Rome after a meeting with Cardinal Brady and the Jesuits of the Portadown community.