Kolvenbach – A Heart for Refugees!

Kolvenbach – A Heart for Refugees!

Beirut-Lebanon: Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach, the 29th Superior General of the Society of Jesus (1983-2008) died in Beirut Lebanon on November 26th 2016. He would have completed 88 years on November 30th. May he rest in peace!

Fr. Kolvenbach inherited the mantle of the leadership of the Jesuits from the visionary and charismatic Fr. Pedro Arrupe. Fr. Arrupe suffered a severe stroke in August 1981, from which he never recovered. Pope John Paul II appointed two other Jesuits to govern the Society for more than two years, till the 33rd General Congregation, which elected Fr Kolvenbach as Superior General in September 1983.

It was certainly a tall order for anyone, to step into the shoes of Arrupe, who had ensured that the Society of Jesus was attune to the workings and direction of the Spirit in keeping with Vatican II; besides, those were turbulent years for the Society. Kolvenbach however, in his own discreet, humble but definite style continued with the rich legacy he inherited from Arrupe. On 14th November 1980, Arrupe founded the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). Arrupe was convinced that the Jesuits had to respond to the cries of the ‘boat people”, who were fleeing war and persecution. For almost twenty-five years as Superior General, Kolvenbach, made sure that in keeping with Arrupe’s vision the Jesuits never lost sight of their commitment to the refugees and other forcibly displaced.

On 14th February 1990, in a path- breaking and in-depth letter to the Universal Society entitled, ‘Review of the Jesuit Refugee Service’, Kolvenbach confirmed Arrupe’s vision of JRS “both as an expression of our concern for the poor and as a significant step towards our renewal, personal and corporate, in availability, mobility and universality” In that letter Kolvenbach also highlighted the specificity of JRS saying that, “The Jesuit Refugee Service is a modest venture, but it does claim to bring a specific dimension to its work which is sometimes lacking elsewhere. While always ready to help refugees in their material and spiritual wants, and also in designing projects leading to a fuller and more independent life, we try to place special emphasis on being with and doing with, rather than doing for. We want our presence among refugees to be one of sharing with them, of accompaniment, of walking together along the same path. In so far as possible, we want to feel what they have felt, suffer as they have, share the same hopes and aspirations, see the world through their eyes. We ourselves would like to become one with the refugees and displaced people so that, all together, we can begin the search for a new life.”

It is true that Arrupe founded the JRS; it his vision and charisma which has guided JRS for thirty-six years now. It was Kolvenbach however, who for almost twenty-five years, provided the organization with the necessary directions, the framework and the spirituality to respond to the growing number of refugees the world over. Both GC 33 (1983) and GC34(1995) provided him and the Society with the mandate to respond to the urgent concerns of the refugees. Kolvenbach put his heart into this commitment of the Society.

A little before he resigned as General, Kolvenbach gave an interview to the well-known Jesuit magazine ‘AMERICA’ (very significantly dtd. 26th November 2007). One of the questions asked was Could you speak about the current missions of the Society? He was very candid in his response, “because the Jesuits are present worldwide, we have a “natural mission” to take care of people on the move: refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented people and migrants. This mission involves our presence in camps and in advocacy for more humane state regulations. The Jesuit Refugee Service has to operate often in a protean world, in which the people on the move are not only poor, but foreign and displaced.

This service would not be possible without a large partnership with non-Jesuits, especially laypeople. It was the American experience that inspired us to develop this Jesuit-lay partnership. We are not serving the church well if we remain exclusively Jesuits “for others.” The Spirit speaking to us in the Vatican Council enabled us to rediscover the church as a communion within which we are called to be men “for others with others.” In all our works, educational as well as scientific, missionary and pastoral, social and in the mass media, we have learned to share our spiritual and apostolic inheritance: to listen and to learn from others. This feature of our Jesuit vocation has been strongly developed. I hope and pray that, inspired by the experience of St. Ignatius in the Spiritual Exercises, we can continue this mission, which leads Jesuits, other religious and laypeople to a personal encounter with the Lord, the origin of our vocation and of our mission in the world.”

It was very touching that the day he resigned on January 14th 2008, Fr. Kolvenbach also paid tribute to JRS and its collaborators, refugees, lay people, religious and Jesuits, saying, “it has been a blessing and a consolation to witness the positive development of this important mission of the universal Society of Jesus. It is a joy to see how JRS is committed to the mission of consoling so many refugees and forcibly displaced people, the poorest of the poor, around the world, especially in camps. JRS provides many different services, such as advocacy, but that it was essential that it also continued to connect with refugees in camps where JRS’s presence can bring them hope”.

“JRS plants a seed of hope in the aridness of refugee camps where people’s future is so often in jeopardy. This is particularly the case for young refugees in despair who are unable to gain access to education. Day after day, year after year, they see how their lives become more and more hopeless.’

During the years Kolvenbach was Superior General, the number of refugees the world over would have touched 50 million. At that time, the Middle East had its share of refugees mainly from Palestine and Iraq. The crisis in Syria began only in 2011, when Kolvenbach had already begun living a fairly ‘hidden life’ in the Jesuit community of St Joseph’s in Beirut. But he kept abreast of what was happening; always very concerned about the plight of the refuges and the IDPs. This is borne by the fact that he would often ask the writer, “how is your work with the refugees?”

Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach was a humble, civil, soft-spoken Jesuit; but he was a giant of a human being. He will always be remembered for many significant contributions but one thing for sure: that he had a heart for refugees!

An Interview planned with Kolvenbah, but all in Vain!

by Fr Cedric Prakash Sj

Dear Friends,

Fr Kolvenbach is no more! Many of us are going to miss him very much. He was a great TREASURE: a WONDERFUL Human Being, a Jesuit to the core! I do believe that he is a Saint today, interceding for us from above!

It has been a great privilege for me, to have lived with him for most of this year in the same community ;in fact we both had our rooms on the 7th floor- till he was shifted sometime back to the infirmary(on the 5th floor), because of his poor health. Meeting him , briefly encountering him – almost every day( when I was not travelling or he was NOT in hospital) was a source of joy and strength to me. Sometime ago, some Jesuit companions suggested I do an interview with him ! I thought that it was a great idea,so I very cautiously planned my moves to get this ‘reluctant’ speaker to actually agree to an interview. (by the way, his memory till the end was phenomenal)

One evening ,early in November. I went to his room with the hard copy of this interview(attached) which I had with him in Ahmedabad in November 2006 when he visited the Gujarat Province(appeared in JIVAN in January 2007). He looked at it very carefully and smiled saying, “did I actually say ALL these things?”. I said “yes” because every word was vetted (and edited) by the Curia in Rome before it was published! He smiled again !

Some days later I spoke to Fr. Alex Bassili, of my idea. Fr Alex was the Socius (Secretary) to the Provincial here, for many years and had a close rapport with Fr Kolvenbach. Fr Alex suggested that I join them the next day on the 5th floor for the coffee break at 10.00 am(the Jesuits in the infirmary since the last few weeks have been having a ‘coffee break’ together with some others)Fr. Alex also agreed to sit in when I interviewed Fr Kolvenbach!

The next day Tuesday November 22nd , I was there ‘on time’ . We had to read just and meet in the little kitchenette instead of the parlour!. Besides Fr Kolvenbach, Fr, Alex and myself- there were also Frs. Theo, Mark George, Joseph (the Minister) and one of the infirmarians . It was the National Day of Lebanon- a holiday! Fr Kolvenbach , when we came in wished all,”Bonne Fete” and kept enquiring about the parade in the city! We made many efforts to see it on the i-pad but to no avail. He did seem a bit disappointed. After a while I reminded him about the interview I had done with him ten years earlier. ” Oh yes!”, he replied, ” I have done many interviews in the past”. At that moment I suggested to Fr Alex ” We will postpone the interview; perhaps I could do it on Saturday morning!”

Saturday was November 26th….He was already in the ICU of the hospital since the previous night, with little hope of a recovery. By nightfall, Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach,the former Superior General of the Society of Jesus had winged his way to heaven !!!!

I was unable to do that interview- it certainly does not matter now. Kolvenbach touched the lives of many while on earth; each one today, will be remembering with warmth and nostalgia, his presence in their lives; many will be singing paeans to/of him!

“Adieu dear friend in the Lord!”

Cedric, The Author: Fr. Cedric Prakash sj- Advocacy & Communications, Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) MENA Region, Rue de L’Universitie Saint-Joseph, BEIRUT LEBANON