Jesuit Superior General Will Make Historic Visit to Spring Hill College

Apr 28th, 2004

Mobile, Ala. - Spring Hill announced today that the Very Rev. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J., superior general of the Society of Jesus, will visit the College campus Oct. 4, 2004, as part of a two-day pastoral visit to the New Orleans Jesuit Province. Kolvenbach will celebrate the College's annual Mass of the Holy Spirit with students, faculty and staff in the morning and will be honored at an evening public convocation at the newly restored St. Joseph Chapel where he will be presented the College's first Fons Sepientiae Award. From the Latin phrase on the College's seal "In colle exaltus fons sepientiae," or "a spring of wisdom lifted up on the hill," the Fons Sepientiae Award will honor individuals who have been examples of practical wisdom inspired by living faith. The historic visit will mark the first time a superior general of the Society of Jesus has visited Spring Hill College.

"We are very honored to be part of the first visit by a Jesuit superior general to Spring Hill College," said Spring Hill President Gregory F. Lucey, S.J. "I know the Spring Hill College community is looking forward to his message and his inspiration, particularly as we prepare to celebrate our 175th anniversary in 2005."

Kolvenbach plans to spend time with the Jesuits in the area and with local Catholic leaders on Oct. 4 before meeting with Jesuits in New Orleans and at the Jesuit novitiate in Grand Coteau, La. the following day.

Stationed in Rome, Kolvenbach is the 29th superior general of the Society of Jesus and leader of the largest religious order in the Catholic Church. Founded in 1540 by St. Ignatius Loyola, the Society of Jesus currently includes 22,000 members serving in 112 nations. Carrying on more than 450 years of Ignatian tradition, the Jesuits are known for their work in education, spirituality centers and social ministries and for helping those who have been socially marginalized.

Since becoming superior general in 1983, Kolvenbach has challenged and encouraged Jesuit communities to make the pursuit of social justice a central theme in Jesuit education. In an October 2000 keynote address to Jesuit educators from the U.S. and from around the world, Kolvenbach said "Jesuit universities have stronger and different reasons than many other academic and research institutions for addressing the actual world as it unjustly exists and for helping to reshape it in the light of the Gospel."

Leading the 34th General Congregation in 1995, Kolvenbach set the course for the future of the Society of Jesus, calling on its members to integrate faith and justice, work to deepen their understanding and respect for cultures, acknowledge and support the responsibility of lay women and men in Jesuit higher education, work disinterestedly in the service of the truth in relation to ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, and break down clericalism that has led to male domination in the Church.

Kolvenbach's tenure as superior general has witnessed the first meeting in Jesuit history of all the heads of provinces when, in 1990, the inaugural Congregation of Provincials met to discuss the work of the Jesuits around the world. Since his election, Kolvenbach has participated in numerous Synods including the European Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the African Special Assembly, the Special Assembly for Lebanon and the Special Assembly of America.

After completing his doctoral studies in Armenian in 1967, Kolvenbach served as minister of Jesuit students at the University of Saint Joseph in Beirut, Lebanon. In 1969 he took his final vows and worked in Beirut for the next five years in several capacities.

In 1971, Kolvenbach was transferred to the Vice-Province of the Middle East-an area of the world where he would serve for the next decade. In 1974, he became provincial of the Vice Province of the Middle East and concurrently taught general linguistics and Armenian while conducting refugee work in Lebanon. He was appointed to the faculty of the Gregorian University in Rome in 1981 and also served as rector of the Pontifical Oriental Institute.

For more information on Spring Hill College or Fr. Kolvenbach's visit, contact the Office of the President at 251-380-3866 or visit the College online at www.shc.edu