April 08, 2006

Seven vehicles belonging to the St Aloysius College Jesuit community were destroyed by fire in the early morning hours of March 12. A similar incident occurred at the Jesuit community in Msida last November. Inquiries into both fires are underway.

The March 12 incident coincided with the publication of an EU commissioned report on the level of racism and xenophobia in Malta that was drawn up by the Jesuit Centre of Faith and Justice in collaboration with the Jesuit Refugee Service.

The Jesuit order has been the target of criticism from right wingers in Malta because of its stance against intolerance and racism, and the Jesuit Refugee Service has been especially criticized on account of assistance provided to the recent influx of illegal immigrants from Africa. [Source: Times of Malta]

The Kennedy Apartment complex under construction at Gonzaga University was completely destroyed by a fire that began early Monday, March 13. Investigations concluded that the fire was intentionally set.

No injuries were reported and all university offices and departments were open and operating without interruption. Students and faculty were predominantly away from campus for spring break.

The university is removing the debris from the complex and plans to begin re-construction by the first of May. Officials are assessing options to accommodate the 223 juniors and seniors who had been assigned to Kennedy Apartments for the upcoming year. [Source: Gonzaga University]

March 23-24 marked the "Global Launch of Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos," an event intended to bring the rich colonial heritage of Bolivia's missions to the world's attention.

While many Jesuit missions in South America have fallen into disrepair, those in Bolivia remain a cultural force. The churches house rare musical scores and instruments, priceless works of art, and also serve to train the next generation of local artists and artisans in the styles of their ancestors.

Authorities hope that marketing the Jesuit Missions Trail as a sort of "new world pilgrimage" will restore confidence in Bolivia's tourism industry, which was hurt by widespread social unrest in 2005. [Source: BBC]

Rockhurst University Names New President

The Rockhurst University Board of Trustees has appointed Fr Thomas B Curran OSFS the 14th president of the university. Fr Curran replaces Fr Edward Kinerk SJ, who has been president since 1998, in June. Fr Curran, associate vice president for university relations and assistant to the president at Regis University, is a member of the Oblates of St Francis de Sales. Before working at Regis, he served as founder and executive director of Nativity Prep School in Wilmington, Del.; president of Salesianum School in Wilmington; and president of Northeast Catholic High School for Boys in Philadelphia. [Source: Rockhurst University]

Vietnamese Government Orders TV Station Returned to Jesuits

A Vietnamese television company has been ordered to return their building to the Jesuits. The company took possession of the facility in 1980 when the Jesuits living in Saigon were arrested and their property confiscated. The Jesuits had started a TV school in preparation for possible broadcasting activities. The government has ordered that the restitution take place before June 30, 2006. [Source: SJ Curia]

Remembrance of Things Past

• Apr 1, 1941. The death of Hippolyte Delehaye in Brussels. He was an eminent hagiographer and in charge of the Bollandists from 1912 to 1941.
• Apr 2, 1767. Charles III ordered the arrest of all the Jesuits in Spain and the confiscation of all their property.
• Apr 3, 1583. The death of Jeronimo Nadal, one of the original companions of Ignatius who later entrusted him with publishing and distributing the Jesuit Constitutions to the various regions of the early Society.
• Apr 4, 1534. Peter Faber (Pierre Favre) ordained a deacon in Paris.
• Apr 5, 1635. The death of Louis Lellemant, writer and spiritual teacher.
• Apr 6, 1850. The first edition of La Civilta Cattolica appeared. It was the first journal of the restored Society.
• Apr 7, 1541. Ignatius was unanimously elected general, but he declined to accept the results.
• Apr 8, 1762. The French Parlement issued a decree of expulsion of the Jesuits from all their colleges and houses.
• Apr 9, 1615. The death of William Weston, minister to persecuted Catholics in England and later an author who wrote about his inteior life during that period.
• Apr 10,1585. At Rome, the death of Pope Gregory XIII, founder of the Gregorian University and the German College, whose memory will ever be cherished as that of one of the Society's greatest benefactors.
• Apr 11,1573. Pope Gregory XIII suggested to the Fathers who were assembling for the Third General Congregation that it might be well for them to choose a General of some nationality other than Spanish. Later he expressed his satisfaction that they had elected Everard Mercurian, a Belgian.
• Apr 12, 1671. Francis Borgia, the 3rd general of the Society, was canonized by Pope Clement X.
• Apr 13, 1541. Ignatius was elected general in a second election, after having declined the results of the first election several days earlier.
• Apr 14, 1618. The father of John Berchmans is ordained a priest. John himself was still a Novice.
• Apr 15, 1610. The death of Fr Robert Parsons, the most active and indefatigable of all the leaders of the English Catholics during the reign of Elizabeth I.
• Apr 16, 1767. Pope Clement XIII wrote to Charles III of Spain imploring him to cancel the decree of expulsion of the Society from Spain, issued on April 2nd. The Pope's letter nobly defends the innocence of the Society.
• Apr 17, 1540. The arrival in Lisbon of St Francis Xavier and Fr Simon Rodriguez. Both were destined for India, but the latter was retained in Portugal by the King.
• Apr 18, 1906. At Rome, the death of Rev Fr Luis Martin, twenty-fourth General of the Society. Pope Pius X spoke of him as a saint, a martyr, a man of extraordinary ability and prudence.
• Apr 19, 1602. At Tyburn, Ven. James Ducket, a layman, suffered death for publishing a work written by Robert Southwell.
• Apr 20, 1864. Father Peter de Smet left St Louis to evangelize the Sioux Indians.
• Apr 21, 1926. Fr General Ledochowski sent out a letter De Usu Machinae Photographicae. It stated that cameras should belong to the house, not the individual. Further, they should not be used for recreation or time spent on trifles rather than for the greater glory of God.
• Apr 22, 1541. Ignatius and his first companions made their solemn profession of vows in the basilica of St Paul Outside-the-Walls.
• Apr 23, 1644. A General Chapter of the Benedictines condemned the calumny that St Ignatius was not the real author of the Spiritual Exercises. A monk had earlier claimed that the matter was borrowed from a work by Garzia Cisneros.
• Apr 24, 1589. At Bordeaux, the Society was ordered to leave the city. It had been falsely accussed of favoring the faction which was opposed to King Henry III.
• Apr 25, 1915. Pierre Rousselot, Professor at the Institute Catholique in Paris, is wounded and taken prisoner during World War I.
• Apr 26, 1935. Lumen Vitae, center for catechetics and religious formation was founded in Brussels.
• Apr 27, 1880. On the occasion of the visit of Jules Ferry, French minister of education, to Amiens, France, shouts were raised under the Jesuit College windows: "Les Jesuites a la guillotine."
• Apr 28, 1542. St Ignatius sent Pedro Ribadenaira, aged fifteen, from Rome to Paris for his studies. Pedro had been admitted into the Society in l539 or l540.
• Apr 29, 1933. Thomas Ewing Sherman died in New Orleans. An orator on the mission band, he was the son of Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman. He suffered a breakdown, and wanted to leave the Society, but was refused because of his ill health. Before his death he renewed his vows in the Society.
• Apr 30, 1585. The landing at Osaka of Fr Gaspar Coelho. At first the Emperor was favorably disposed towards Christianity. This changed later because of Christianity's attitude toward polygamy.

From the Editors

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