Reverend FatherThe Reverend is a style most often used as a prefix to the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. "The Reverend" is more correctly called a "style" but is often and in some dictionaries...
Adolfo Nicolás Pachón,
S.J.The Society of Jesus is a Catholic religious order of clerks regular whose members are called Jesuits.Jesuits are the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church, with 18,815 members—13,305 priests, 2,295 scholastic students, 1,758 brothers and 827 novices—as of January 2008, although the...
,
S.T.D.The Doctor of Sacred Theology is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Catholic Church....
(born April 29, 1936) is a
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
priestThe ministerial orders of the Catholic Church includes the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
of the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
. He is the thirtieth and current
Superior General of theThe Superior General of the Society of Jesus is the official title of the leader of the Society of Jesus—the Roman Catholic religious order, also known as the Jesuits. He is generally addressed as Father General. The position carries the nickname of Black Pope, after his simple black priest's...
Society of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic religious order of clerks regular whose members are called Jesuits.Jesuits are the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church, with 18,815 members—13,305 priests, 2,295 scholastic students, 1,758 brothers and 827 novices—as of January 2008, although the...
, the largest male
religious orderReligious orders are the major form of consecrated life in the Catholic Church. They are organisations of laity and/or clergy who live a common life following a religious rule under the leadership of a religious superior...
in the Church.
Adolfo Nicolás was born in
Villamuriel de CerratoVillamuriel de Cerrato is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 5,304 inhabitants....
,
PalenciaPalencia is a province of northern Spain, in the northern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of León, Cantabria, Burgos, and Valladolid.Of the population of 176,125 , 45% live in the capital, Palencia...
, and entered the
Society of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic religious order of clerks regular whose members are called Jesuits.Jesuits are the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church, with 18,815 members—13,305 priests, 2,295 scholastic students, 1,758 brothers and 827 novices—as of January 2008, although the...
, more commonly known as the Jesuits, in the
novitiateNovitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
of
AranjuezAranjuez is a town lying 48 km south of Madrid, in the southern part of the Community of Madrid. It is located at the confluence of the Tagus and Jarama rivers. The municipality of Aranjuez has a population of 56,734...
in 1953 . He studied at the
University of AlcaláThe University of Alcalá is a public university located in the city of Alcalá de Henares, to the east of Madrid in Spain. Founded in 1499, it was moved in 1836 to Madrid. In 1977, the University was reopened in its same historical buildings...
, there earning his
licentiateLicentiate is the title of a person who holds an academic degree called a licence. The term may derive from the Latin licentia docendi, meaning permission to teach. The term may also derive from the Latin licentia ad practicandum, which signified someone who held a certificate of competence to...
in
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
, until 1960, whence he traveled to
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to familiarize himself with
Japanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family. There are a number of proposed relationships with other languages, but none have gained general acceptance...
and
cultureThe culture of Japan has evolved greatly over millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jomon culture to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America...
.
Reverend FatherThe Reverend is a style most often used as a prefix to the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. "The Reverend" is more correctly called a "style" but is often and in some dictionaries...
Adolfo Nicolás Pachón,
S.J.The Society of Jesus is a Catholic religious order of clerks regular whose members are called Jesuits.Jesuits are the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church, with 18,815 members—13,305 priests, 2,295 scholastic students, 1,758 brothers and 827 novices—as of January 2008, although the...
,
S.T.D.The Doctor of Sacred Theology is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Catholic Church....
(born April 29, 1936) is a
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
priestThe ministerial orders of the Catholic Church includes the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
of the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
. He is the thirtieth and current
Superior General of theThe Superior General of the Society of Jesus is the official title of the leader of the Society of Jesus—the Roman Catholic religious order, also known as the Jesuits. He is generally addressed as Father General. The position carries the nickname of Black Pope, after his simple black priest's...
Society of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic religious order of clerks regular whose members are called Jesuits.Jesuits are the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church, with 18,815 members—13,305 priests, 2,295 scholastic students, 1,758 brothers and 827 novices—as of January 2008, although the...
, the largest male
religious orderReligious orders are the major form of consecrated life in the Catholic Church. They are organisations of laity and/or clergy who live a common life following a religious rule under the leadership of a religious superior...
in the Church.
Biography
Adolfo Nicolás was born in
Villamuriel de CerratoVillamuriel de Cerrato is a municipality located in the province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 5,304 inhabitants....
,
PalenciaPalencia is a province of northern Spain, in the northern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of León, Cantabria, Burgos, and Valladolid.Of the population of 176,125 , 45% live in the capital, Palencia...
, and entered the
Society of JesusThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic religious order of clerks regular whose members are called Jesuits.Jesuits are the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church, with 18,815 members—13,305 priests, 2,295 scholastic students, 1,758 brothers and 827 novices—as of January 2008, although the...
, more commonly known as the Jesuits, in the
novitiateNovitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
of
AranjuezAranjuez is a town lying 48 km south of Madrid, in the southern part of the Community of Madrid. It is located at the confluence of the Tagus and Jarama rivers. The municipality of Aranjuez has a population of 56,734...
in 1953 . He studied at the
University of AlcaláThe University of Alcalá is a public university located in the city of Alcalá de Henares, to the east of Madrid in Spain. Founded in 1499, it was moved in 1836 to Madrid. In 1977, the University was reopened in its same historical buildings...
, there earning his
licentiateLicentiate is the title of a person who holds an academic degree called a licence. The term may derive from the Latin licentia docendi, meaning permission to teach. The term may also derive from the Latin licentia ad practicandum, which signified someone who held a certificate of competence to...
in
philosophyPhilosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing these questions by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on reasoned...
, until 1960, whence he traveled to
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to familiarize himself with
Japanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family. There are a number of proposed relationships with other languages, but none have gained general acceptance...
and
cultureThe culture of Japan has evolved greatly over millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jomon culture to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America...
. Nicolás entered
Sophia University' is a private university in Japan, with its main campus located near Yotsuya station, in an area of Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward in Japan.It is one of leading Japanese universities and is famous for its international climate; taking it's name Sophia from the Greek sophia meaning "wisdom"...
in
Tokyo, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and is located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the city of Tokyo in the eastern part of the prefecture, totaling over 8 million people....
, where he studied
theologyThe term "theology" literally means the study of God, deriving from the Greek word theos, meaning 'God', and the suffix -ology from the Greek word logos meaning "discourse", "theory", or "reasoning"...
, in 1964, and was later
ordainedThe term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to a group of individuals who are set apart for a special role or ministry....
to the
priesthoodThe ministerial orders of the Catholic Church includes the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
on March 17, 1967.
From 1968 to 1971, he studied at the
Pontifical Gregorian UniversityPontifical Gregorian University is a pontifical university located in Rome, Italy. Heir of the Roman College founded by St Ignatius of Loyola over 450 years ago, the Gregorian University was the first Jesuit University...
in
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
, from where he obtained his
Master's degree in theologyLicentiate of Sacred Theology is the title of an intermediate graduate degree with canonical effects in the Roman Catholic Church offered by pontifical universities and ecclesiastical faculties of sacred theology...
, and later earned a
doctorate in theologyThe Doctor of Sacred Theology is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Catholic Church....
. Upon his return to Japan, Nicolás was made
professorThe meaning of the word professor varies. In some English-speaking countries, it refers to a senior academic who holds a departmental chair, especially as head of the department, or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual...
of
systematic theologySystematic theology is a discipline of Christian theology that attempts to formulate an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the Christian faith and beliefs. Inherent to a system of theological thought is that a method is developed, one which can be applied both broadly and particularly...
at his
alma materAlma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother". It was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, and in Medieval Christianity for the Virgin Mary. In modern times it is ordinarily used to refer to the university or college a person attended...
of Sophia University, teaching there for the next thirty years.
He was
DirectorAn executive director is the senior manager of an organization, company, or corporation. The position is comparable to a chief executive officer or managing director...
of the East Asian Pastoral Institute at the
Ateneo de Manila UniversityThe Ateneo de Manila University is a private university run by the Society of Jesus in the Philippines. It began in 1859 when the City of Manila handed control of the Escuela Municipal de Manila in Intramuros, Manila, to the Jesuits. It was then a state-subsidized school...
, in
Quezon CityQuezon City , is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. Located on the island of Luzon, Quezon City is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region. The city was named after Manuel L...
,
PhilippinesThe Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
, from 1978 to 1984, and later served as
rectorThe word rector has a number of different meanings; they indicate an academic, religious or political administrator...
of the theologate in Tokyo from 1991 to 1993, when he was appointed
ProvincialA provincial superior is a major superior of a religious order acting under the order's superior general and exercising a general supervision over all the local superiors in a territorial division of the order called a province...
of the Jesuit Province of Japan. Nicolás remained in this post until 1999, and then spent three years doing
pastoralIn the Roman Catholic Church, a parish is the lowest ecclesiastical geographical subdivision: from ecclesiastical province to diocese to deanery to parish.-Requirements:A parish needs two things under common law to become a parish...
work among poor
immigrantsImmigration is the arrival of new individuals into a habitat or population. It is a biological concept and is important in population ecology, differentiated from emigration and migration.-As a political term:...
in Tokyo. In 1998 he clashed with the
VaticanThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
when he and several
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
n
bishopsIn the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
requested for more local authority for Church decisions.
In 2004 he returned to the Philippines after he was named
ModeratorModerator may refer to:In organisations:*Forum moderator, a person given special powers to enforce the rules on an Internet forum or newsgroup-Religion:*Moderator of the General Assembly, the chairperson of the highest court of a presbyterian church...
of the Jesuit Conference for Eastern Asia and
OceaniaOceania is a geographical, often geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Dumont d'Urville...
. As Moderator, he was responsible for the Jesuits of several countries, including
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
,
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, Japan,
KoreaKorea is a civilization and formerly unified nation currently divided into two states. Located on the Korean Peninsula, it borders China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait....
,
MicronesiaMicronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising hundreds of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines and Indonesia lie to the west....
,
MyanmarBurma, officially the Union of Myanmar, is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia or Indochina. The country is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest and the Bay of Bengal to the...
, and
East TimorEast Timor, also known as Timor-Leste is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecussi-Ambeno, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
.
On the second ballot of the thirty-fifth
General CongregationThe highest authority in the Society of Jesus is the General Congregation, an assembly of the Jesuit representatives from all parts of the world. A general congregation is always summoned on the death or resignation of the administrative head of the order—called the Superior General—to...
(GC XXXV) of the Society of Jesus, Nicolás was elected as the Order’s thirtieth
Superior GeneralThe Superior General of the Society of Jesus is the official title of the leader of the Society of Jesus—the Roman Catholic religious order, also known as the Jesuits. He is generally addressed as Father General. The position carries the nickname of Black Pope, after his simple black priest's...
on January 19, 2008, succeeding the
DutchThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
Fr. Peter Hans KolvenbachPeter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., S.T.D. , was the 29th Superior General of the Society of Jesus, the largest religious order of the Catholic Church....
. His election was immediately relayed to
Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVI is the 265th and reigning Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the head of the Catholic Church and, as such, Sovereign of the Vatican City State...
, who confirmed him in the post. Many have marked the similarities between Nicolás and former Superior General
Fr. Pedro ArrupeFr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J. was the twenty eighth Superior General of the Society of Jesus. He was born in Bilbao, Biscay, Spain.- Education and training:...
, who was removed by Pope John Paul II and was also a Spanish
missionaryA missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith; someone who proselytizes. The word "mission" is derived from the Latin missioninimus A missionary is a member of a religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith;...
in Japan; Nicolás has described Arrupe, of whom he was once the personal
barberA barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, give shaves, and trim beards. In previous times, barbers also performed surgery and dentistry. In more recent times, with the development of safety razors and the decreasing prevalence of beards, most barbers primarily cut hair...
, as a "great missionary, a national hero, a man on fire". He leads a congregation which currently numbers 19,126 members.
In addition to his native
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
, Nicolás can speak
CatalanCatalan is a Romance language, the national and official language of Andorra, and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencià , as well as in the city of Alghero on the Italian island of...
,
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
,
ItalianItalian is a Romance language spoken by about 60 million people in Italy, and by a total of around 70 million in the world. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four official languages. It is also the official language of San Marino, as well as the primary language of Vatican City...
,
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
, and
Japaneseis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family. There are a number of proposed relationships with other languages, but none have gained general acceptance...
.
Missionary work
He once stated, "Asia has a lot yet to offer the Church, to the whole Church, but we haven't done it yet. Maybe we have not been courageous enough, or we haven't taken the risks we should". In an article on Nicolás, Michael McVeigh said that Nicolás has also expressed his wariness of missionaries who are more concerned with teaching and imposing orthodoxy than in having a cultural experience with the local people, saying, "Those who enter into the lives of the people, they begin to question their own positions very radically."
In the homily of the Mass celebrated after his election as Superior General, Nicolás emphasized service, based on the scriptural reading for that day, the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola, and Benedict XVI's teaching on God is love. He stated: "The more we become as servants, the more pleased God is." Delving further on the scriptural passage and after relating an anecdote of experiences with the poor in Asia, he related poverty with having God as the only source of strength, pointing out that the Jesuit's strength is not in externals (power, media, etc.) nor in internal fortitude (research). "The poor only have God in whom to find strength. For us only God is our strength."
Nicolas also developed the following ideas: the message of the Jesuits is "a message of salvation" and the challenge of discerning the type of salvation that people today are waiting for.
Obedience to Rome
After receiving a message from Pope Benedict asking the Society of Jesus to affirm its fidelity to the magisterium and the Holy See, the Congregation presided by Nicolás responded, "The Society of Jesus was born within the Church, we live in the Church, we were approved by the Church and we serve the Church. This is our vocation...[Unity with the pope] is the symbol of our union with Christ. It also is the guarantee that our mission will not be a 'small mission,' a project just of the Jesuits, but that our mission is the mission of the Church."
Liberation theology
In a November 2008 interview with
El PeriodicoEl Periódico is Spanish for "The Journal" and may refer to*El Periódico de Catalunya *El Periódico...
, Nicolás described
liberation theologyLiberation theology is a school of theology within Christianity, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church. It emphasizes the Christian mission to bring justice to the poor and oppressed, particularly through political activism. Its theologians consider sin the root source of poverty, the sin in...
as a "courageous and creative response to an unbearable situation of injustice in
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,501 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
." These remarks are particularly controversial since liberation theology has been pointedly denounced by
Pope John Paul IIPope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła served as Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death almost 27 years later. His was the second-longest pontificate; only Pope Pius IX served longer...
and by
Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVI is the 265th and reigning Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the head of the Catholic Church and, as such, Sovereign of the Vatican City State...
, when he was still
Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the FaithThe Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition, and sometimes simply called the Holy Office is the oldest of the nine congregations of the Roman Curia. Among the most active of these major Curial...
. However, the Superior General also added, "As with any theology,
liberation theologyLiberation theology is a school of theology within Christianity, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church. It emphasizes the Christian mission to bring justice to the poor and oppressed, particularly through political activism. Its theologians consider sin the root source of poverty, the sin in...
needs years to mature. It’s a shame that it has not been given a vote of confidence and that soon its wings will be cut before it learns to fly. It needs more time."
External links