One Mission, Many Ministries:
Responding to the Call of Christ the King
Jesuits are motivated by a deep, personal love of Jesus Christ and a “desire to imitate in some manner our Creator and Lord Jesus Christ … since he is the way which leads to life” (St Ignatius of Loyola).
We seek to be “contemplatives in action” combining the service of faith with the promotion of justice, following the example of our founder, St Ignatius, who strove to “find God in all things.” We consider ourselves to be sent on a mission with Jesus as companions consecrated for service under the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Jesuits are best known in the fields of education (schools, colleges, universities, seminaries, theological faculties), intellectual research, and spiritual renewal. In South Asia, Jesuits run schools, universities, and parishes and engage in missionary work, social justice, inter-religious dialogue, and other ‘frontier’ ministries. Most importantly, we continue the tradition of providing retreats based on The Spiritual Exercises, the foundational work of St Ignatius.
The goal of the Jesuit mission is to be ever available for the greater universal good, desiring always the “magis”, that which is truly better “For the Greater Glory of God.” It is this availability for the Church’s universal mission that marks the Society of Jesus as an apostolic religious order.
Jesuit Educational Association
(JEA)
Higher Education (JHEASA)
Secretariat for Ignatian Spirituality
of South Asian Assistancy (JIGSA)
Secretariat for Tribal/Indigenous
Apostolate (JEMAI)
Jesuit Communications (JESCOM)
Assistancy Commission for Formation
(ACF)
Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS)
Secretariat for Religious Studies (JERES)
Secretariat for Jesuit Pastors
of South Asia (JEPASA)
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Jesuit Educational Association
(JEA)The Jesuit Educational Association (legal title: Jesuit Conference of India-Educational Section) was constituted in 1961 with the aim of providing Jesuits with a forum of reflection on the educational apostolate of the Society in the context of changing conditions in South Asia. All Jesuit educational institutions in South Asia are members of the JEA. The secretariat, assisted especially by the Province/Region Coordinators of Education, seeks to animate Jesuit educational institutions to a deeper understanding of the Jesuit vision in Education especially through the implementation of the Characteristics of Jesuit Education and Ignatian Pedagogy. This entails enabling the institutions to be rooted in the local context, to network with like-minded institutions and be instruments of social change. Every year the province/region coordinators, who form together with the statutory ‘JEA National Committee’, meet with the secretary to review this apostolate and plan for the future. The JEA Secretary is ex-officio the National Coordinator of the Federation of Jesuit Alumni Associations of South Asia. Jesuit Education draws its inspiration from the life of Ignatius, the Constitutions of the Society and the best practices in vogue at that time. These last-mentioned were put together in what is known as The Ratio Studiorum of 1599. The Ratio gives Jesuit schools a vision and a system that bound them together into a unity and infused a sense of purpose in what was being done in Jesuit schools all over the world. It earned the Jesuits the nickname, ‘the great schoolmasters of Europe’. As a system, it was in use for two centuries, but its influence was felt for five hundred years.
Due to increased governmental involvement in education, it has become impossible to have one common system for Jesuit schools all over the world. However, a strong need was felt all over the Society to have a common vision in spite of local differences in the way education may be imparted. Accordingly, in 1986 December, Fr. General, Peter Hans Kolvenhach, promulgated The Characteristics of Jesuit Education. It was meant to do for our times what the Ratio did in the 16th and 17th centuries, namely, give a vision and mission to Jesuit Education. There are 8 major characteristics that define Jesuit education: PERSON-ORIENTED, INTEGRAL, VALUE-BASED, PURSUING EXCELLENCE, ADAPTING FOR RELEVANCE, TOWARDS A JUST SOCIETY, PARTICIPATIVE, FAITH-INSPIRED. But vision and mission alone are not enough. The teacher wanted the wherewithal to make the Characteristics come alive in the classroom and in the daily life of the school. Accordingly, in 1993, the International Commission for the Apostolate of Jesuit Education prepared what is called The Ignatian Pedagogy Process (I.P.P.). It is meant to introduce into the classroom and school life an Ignatian Way of Teaching and Administering. The I.P.P. draws its inspiration from the dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises and has 5 important elements: CONTEXT, EXPERIENCE, REFLECTION, ACTION, AND EVALUATION. These are now applied to the ministry of teaching and learning.
Fr. Sunny Jacob, S.J (JAM)
JEA Secretary (Since 15th October 2014)
Jesuit Residence,
225, Jor Bagh, New Delhi (110003)
Email: jcsa.jea@gmail.com; sunnyjacobsj@gmail.com
Website: www.jeasa.org
Mobile : +91-9650814854/+91-9643907591 -
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Higher Education (JHEASA)
The ‘Jesuit Educational Association of India’ [JEA] was constituted in 1961 by the Conference of Major Superiors in October 1961 at Bombay and registered it as a society. However, when the Conference of Major Superiors itself became a registered society, [Jesuit Conference of India] the JEA merged into the JCI as its ‘Education Section’. The JEA had the responsibility to promote Jesuit education in Jesuit Educational Institutions. Naturally, this covered primary, secondary and tertiary education. In order to do justice to these components a full-time Secretary was appointed to look after education in Jesuit schools, and a part-time Joint Secretary for Higher Education was designated to take care of tertiary institutions.
With the advent of changes in the educational sectors vis-à-vis a globalizing world, a spurt in new higher educational institutions was seen in the current decade. With this, the need to establish an autonomous association for Higher Education was expressed, and hence Jesuit Higher Education Association South Asia (JHEASA) was mooted and the JCSA approved the setting up of a New Secretariat for Higher Education in their meeting in October 2008 at Patna. The JCSA deliberated on the Constitution in their Meeting in March 2009 at Pune.
Intellectual Apostolate influenced and enhanced our capability to serve the Church and secular culture. Serious intellectual work and reflection will impact on our global capacity to give the level of excellence that evangelization needs today. Hence JHEASA will comprise all the Institutions beyond Higher Secondary Education. That will include the Graduate, Post Graduate Colleges and Research Centers; Colleges of Education, Management and Business Administration, Engineering, Law and other Professional Institutions; and Theologates and Philosophates. The JEA Secretary and National Adviser of AICUF are permanent invitees to this meeting.
Fr. Swebert D’Silva, SJ (KAR)
Secretary, JHEASAA
St. Aloysius College (Autonomous),
P.B.: 720, Mangalore – 575003
Tel: 0824-2449700/701/703/704
Mob: 9448128154
Email Id: swebertdsilva@hotmail.com -
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Secretariat for Ignatian Spirituality
of South Asian Assistancy (JIGSA)Secretariat (JIGSA=Jesuits working in Ignatian Spirituality in South Asia) was established in May 2009. The setting up of a distinct and separate Secretariat was dedicated to foster and promote the treasures of Ignatian Spirituality and Charism; to enthuse and bring together all those who are involved in sharing the legacy of Ignatian Spirituality with the religious and laity; to give an impetus to research, and to disseminate fruits of study and reflection through periodical seminars and publications. It offers a structure to Provincials and formators to facilitate the ongoing formation of the Scholastics and formed in the Ignatian Spirituality in the Assistancy.
Fr. Joseph A. D’Mello (KAR)
Secretary JIGSA Mob: 9880022893
Mount St Joseph, Prerana
IIMB PO, PB# 7645
Bangalore – 560 076
E-mail: jossiedm@gmail.com -
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Secretariat for Tribal/Indigenous
Apostolate (JEMAI)In order to promote the ministry among the Adivasi/Tribal/Indigenous Peoples, JEMAI is the Assistancy-level Secretariat constituted in 2003. Its main objective is to work for the preservation and promotion of Adivasi/Tribal/Indigenous Peoples’ cultures and identities through research, studies, seminars, workshops, and publications as well as through the active participation in their struggles for socio-economic and political empowerment.
Fr. Ranjeet Kindo (JAM)
Coordinator, JEMAI
Kolhan Community College
Bara Guira, PB 10
Chaibasa, West Singbhum – 833 201
Tel: (06582) 290177; Mob: 9006077002
E-mail: rkindosj@gmail.com -
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Jesuit Communications (JESCOM)
Jesuit Communicators in South Asia (JESCOM), was started in 1974. It is a secretariat with an office at the Assistancy level as well as coordinators at the province and regional levels. The purpose of JESCOM is to assist Jesuit superiors in planning and policymaking regarding the communications apostolate. It also aims to foster a fraternity of Jesuits and lay professionals working in media, to build a fellowship among them and to create a common vision. JESCOM facilitates and supports media education for Jesuits in formation at every level, and youth in general, and students in our educational institutions in particular. The new thrust of JESCOM South Asia is to make communication “a major apostolic dimension of all our apostolate” (G.C.34: “Communication: A New Culture”).
Fr Ashok Vaghela, SJ (GUJ)
Secretary, JESCOM
Xavier Centre or Culture and Communication
St Xavier’s College Campus
Ahmedabad 380 009
Email: ashok@jesuits.net
Mob:9427312342 -
Assistancy Commission for Formation
(ACF)The Assistancy Commission for Formation (ACF) was established by the Jesuit Conference in 1978 as a structure for the implementation of its programme of Inculturation in Jesuit formation in South Asia. The Commission meets once a year. Its specific role is to animate the follow-up of the Inculturation Commission’s recommendations and the Recommendations of the JCSA on the Report of the Formation Review Commission, to see to the implementation of the Norms and Guidelines of Jesuit Formation in South-Asia (1998), to propose and evaluate programmes of formation in the Assistancy, to coordinate regional and national programmes of formation and circulate relevant data and information in the field of training (Incult. Report p. 177, 8.06 and 8.07.)
Fr Raj Irudaya (MDU)
Chairman, ACF (since 1 June 2014)
225 Jor Bagh,New Delhi 110003
Mob: 7042514964 (Delhi)/9444453217 (TN)
Ph: (011) 24642862/43525831;
E-mail: adfjcsa@gmail.com -
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Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS)
Today we continue to be invited by Fr Arrupe and by St Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuits, to look at the world in a deeply spiritual way. We see people “so diverse in dress and behavior: some white and others black, some in peace and others at war, some weeping and others laughing, some healthy and others sick, some being born and others dying.” Due to unjust structures, a quarter of humanity lives on the edge, struggling to survive and maintain its dignity. More than 15 million of them are refugees, and over 38 million have been internally displaced in their own countries. Today’s major displacements are in Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. People of Islamic faith and culture now make up 70% of all forcibly displaced persons. Half of the world’s refugees remain ‘invisible’ in urban areas. Refugees and asylum seekers are confronted with ever higher walls and frontiers of exclusion. They are denied their right to protection in a growing environment of hostility towards migrants and refugees. Their hopelessness is a threat to the future of our world. The JRS’ goal is a world free from frontiers, where people can move freely and securely – a world where the value of hospitality is extended to everyone.
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Secretariat for Religious Studies (JERES)
The Secretariat for ‘Jesuits in Religious Studies’ (JERES), set up in 1985, aims at promoting reflection and research in religious studies as they seek to respond, in collaboration with others, to current and significant issues at the regional, national and international levels. It facilitates collaboration with other apostolates of the Society. It aims at helping the ongoing formation of those engaged in religious research and teaching. It offers a structure to help Superiors, when necessary, to deal with complaints and controversies regarding Jesuits engaged in religious studies. The secretary will also coordinate the work of the ‘Forum for South Asian Jesuit Theologians’ as convenor.
Pudota Rayappa John
Secretary, JERES, VidyajyotiJesuit Residence,
23 Raj NiwasMarg, Delhi-110054
E-mail: prjohnsj@gmail.com
Mob: 9717657604South Asian Jesuit Theologians’ Forum
South Asian Jesuit Theologians’ Forum is a network of Jesuit theologians in South Asia interacting together on common themes of interest concerning our mission in South Asia and the world.
This Forum could meet either as a whole group or in smaller groups according to need. It will be coordinated by the Secretary of Jesuits in Religious Studies (JERES) with a core team. For the coming three years, we suggest this Forum focuses on the following themes: (1) Indian Christology, (2) Hindutva, and (3) Empowering the Subalterns. Over the next year, we could also support the ongoing process of the Synod on Family. The groups working on the themes could network through the internet, meet when necessary and organize a wider meeting also open to others when a particular theme is ready for exposition. This should lead to publication.
Indian Jesuit Theologians’ Forum could have a website where information on all the theologians will be available. The ongoing publications of theologians (articles/books/ papers presented in major conferences) could be uploaded once in three months. The website will provide a link to the blogs of the individual theologians of the Forum. It will be a platform for Jesuits to write in the secular press and media (social) responding to emerging issues and trends.
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Secretariat for Jesuit Pastors
of South Asia (JEPASA)JEPASA came into existence with the first Assistancy-wide consultation of provincial/regional coordinators of the pastoral apostolate in 1989. Reflecting together on the current thrust, problems, and possibilities of the Jesuit pastoral ministry, they articulated in a statement a common goal and vision: “To build up an integrated, fully alive, inter-faith human community, in order to actualize the reign of God. This service would generally start with the local Christian community and eventually, in and through that community, reach out to the larger community.” In 1989 the JCSA granted JEPASA official recognition. Strengthened by Decree 19 of GC-34 on parish ministry, the JEPASA had a convention in 1997 with Fr General and decided to move on with more creativity.
Fr. Gerard C. Rodricks (BOM)
Secretary, JEPASA
Holy Family Church, Andheri (E)
Mumbai 400 093,
Cell for SMS only: 09223262524
Ph: 022-26872133; 022-26871912
E-mail: bigwonderfulworld@gmail.com -
