Rome Diocese opens beatification
process of Jesuit superior general Fr. Arrupe
 |
| Fr Pedro Arrupe. |
Jesuit superior general, Fr. Arturo Sosa has announced that
Rome Diocese has given the approval to open the process of Fr. Pedro Arrupe’s
beatification.
By Robin Gomes
The Diocese of Rome has opened the process of the
beatification and canonization of Father Pedro Arrupe, the 28th superior
general of the Society of Jesus (SJ) or the Jesuits.
“We have seriously begun the process for the beatification
of Fr Pedro Arrupe,” current Jesuit Superior General, Father Arturo
Sosa announced at the meeting of the International Association of
Jesuit Universities in Bilbao, Spain, on July 11.
Fr. Arturo Sosa said that Cardinal Angelo de Donatis,
the Pope’s Vicar for the Diocese of Rome has given the approval to
open the process of Fr. Arrupe’s beatification. The Jesuit general asked
the attendees to pray for the cause and for the assistance of anyone who has
useful information about the religious devotion to Fr. Arrupe.
18 years at the helm
Born on November 14, 1907, in Bilbao, Spain, Fr. Arrupe died on February 5, 1991, in Rome, Italy. He led the Jesuits from 1965 to 1983 bringing about a profound renewal in the congregation in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council.
He also served three consecutive terms as president of the
Union of Religious Superiors General, from 1967-1982.
Holiness
The rules for beatification and canonization prescribe that the bishop of the diocese where the individual lived has to petition the Holy See to allow the process or the cause to begin. If there is no objection by the Roman dicasteries, in particular the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the permission is communicated to the initiating Bishop.
The process of documenting the life and virtues of a
candidate cannot normally begin until 5 years after death to ensure the person
has an enduring reputation for sanctity among the faithful.
Fr. Sosa said described Fr. Arrupe as "a man of truth,
rooted in Christ and dedicated to the mission, whose greatest miracle is the
fact that we are here today". He was a "figure of great
importance", "a person who has lived holiness in a profound and
original way throughout his life: as a young man, as a Jesuit, as a novice
master, as a provincial and as a general". Fr. Sosa explained that
the opening of the cause of beatification takes into account not only Fr.
Arrupe’s leadership of the Society of Jesus but his whole person, who has been
able to identify himself with the Lord throughout his life.
Hiroshima first-hand
Fr. Arrupe entered the Society of Jesus in 1927 after
studying medicine. With the banning of Jesuits in Spain
in 1931, he went to study in Belgium, the Netherlands and
the United States as part of his Jesuit formation.
Ordained a priest in 1936 he obtained a degree in medical
ethics before being sent to Japan in 1938 to work as a missionary.
He later was appointed the master of novices for the Jesuit novitiate in Japan,
and was living in Hiroshima when the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on
Aug. 6, 1945.
With his medical background, the young priest converted the
novitiate into a makeshift hospital for the wounded. A
decade later, in 1958, he was named the first provincial for Japan, overseeing
the Jesuit apostolate in the country.
New direction
Fr. Arrupe was elected Jesuit Superior General in 1965, just six months before the closing of the Second Vatican Council. Under his leadership the Jesuti apostolate shifted its focus to more of social justice issues.
However, his changes were met with opposition not only by
many fellow Jesuits but also popes and other Vatican and ecclesial figures.
It was Fr. Arrupe who appointed Jorge Bergoglio,
the future Pope, the Jesuit provincial of Argentina in 1973, and both
remained close. They together visited the Diocese of La Rioja to support
Bishop Enrique Ángel Angelelli Carletti, who was assassinated in 1976 during
Argentina's Dirty War.
A tangible legacy of the new thrust that Fr. Arrupe gave the
Society of Jesus is the Jesuit Refugee
Service (JRS) which he founded in November 1980 in reaction to the
tragedy of the Vietnamese boat refugees. Today, JRS run programmes
in 51 countries.
Last days
Following a stroke on August 7, 1981, Fr. Arrupe’s ability
to move and speak began diminishing, which forced him to step down as superior
general. He died 10 years later at the age of 83 and is buried at
the Church of Gesù in Rome.
Late Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach was elected is successor as
the new superior general in September 1983.
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