The End of a Generalate

Fr. Daniel Patrick L. Huang, SJ
October 3, 2016

The resignation of Fr. General Adolfo Nicolas on the first day of the 36^th General Congregation was a profoundly moving event for all who witnessed this historic moment.

Eight years ago, Fr. Nicolas had been elected by a General Congregation; now, in October 2016, he needed to present his request to leave office to another General Congregation. He spoke briefly, simply and humbly, about his poor health, his failing energy and his increasingly unreliable memory. The Society, he said, needs someone with more energy and health to lead it in the complex world we live in. He ended his speech and left the dais of the presider to thunderous, prolonged applause and the first of three standing ovations of the morning from the clearly moved delegates.

After Fr. Nicolas had left the hall, the electors listened to further input, discerned, prayed, and then solemnly, silently cast their votes, placing their ballots one by one into a wooden box made for the Congregation.  After the votes had been counted, Fr. Nicolas was then called back into aula, to receive the news that his resignation had been accepted by the Congregation.

His response was deeply moving in its brevity: “Thank you very much,” he said. “I know that you voted this way because you were thinking of the good of the Society, which is what we all want in this Congregation.” Again, a second, sustained standing ovation greeted Fr. Nicolas—now no longer Superior General of the Society of Jesus.

Finally, in the name of the delegates and the whole Society, Fr. Federico Lombardi delivered a beautiful and substantial thank you speech, recalling the numerous contributions of Fr. Nicolas to the Society during the more than eight years of his generalate. Among many other things, Fr. Lombardi spoke of Fr. Nicolas’ warmth and humanity, his infectious joy and good humor, his constant insistence on the universality of our vocation and mission, and the depth which must characterize our life, our reflection, and our response to apostolic challenges. At the end of this tribute, an icon handcrafted by Jesuit artist Fr. Marco Rupnik was presented to Fr. Nicolas.  As Fr. Lombardi came forward to embrace Fr. Nicolas, the delegates, unable to contain their emotions, rose for a third standing ovation to express their gratitude, respect and affection for this generous, good man.

And so it ends. Fr. Adolfo Nicolas, 29^th Successor to St. Ignatius, is no longer Superior General. In the days to come, we pray for openness and sensitivity to the Spirit of God, and for the interior freedom that is the condition of all real discernment, as the delegates consider whom next to call to the office of Superior General of this least Society of Jesus.

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Fr. Daniel Patrick L. Huang, SJ was provincial of the Philippine Jesuits before his appointment to the Jesuit curia in Rome as General Counselor and Regional Assistant for Asia Pacific. He is one of the 215 members of the 36th General Congregation.