The approaching Synod, set to commence on October 4th, is poised to feature a substantial presence of Jesuit members, with Pope Francis leading the way.
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, a Jesuit and the Archbishop of Luxembourg, will shoulder the pivotal role of General Relator—a sensitive responsibility in every synodal assembly. Hollerich, who entered the Society of Jesus in 1981, underwent his formation in Japan, where Father Pedro Arrupe, the Superior General of the Jesuits from 1965 to 1983, dedicated over two decades of tireless work.
Another Jesuit, Father Giacomo Costa, will assume the position of Special Secretary. Presently, he serves as the President of the “Fondazione Culturale San Fedele” in Milan and holds the role of National Spiritual Director of the Italian Christian Workers’ Associations. Father Costa previously discharged this duty during the Synod dedicated to young people in October 2018.
Cardinal Pedro Ricardo Barreto Jimeno, a Peruvian and the Archbishop of Huancayo, also plays a substantial role. He succeeded Cardinal Claudio Hummes in leading the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon, formed following the last Synod centered on the Pan-Amazon region.
Representing the Society of Jesus at the Synod, among other bishops, are Monsignor Milan Lach, titular Bishop of Ostracine and auxiliary of Bratislava, and Monsignor Alexander Aloysius McGuckian, Bishop of Raphoe in Ireland. Father Enrique Figaredo Alvargonzalez, Apostolic Prefect of Battambang, represents Laos and Cambodia.
The group convened by the Union of Superiors General also includes Father Arturo Sosa, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus.
Cardinal Michael Czerny, another Jesuit, serves as the Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, representing the Roman Curia.
Directly appointed by the Pope, four Jesuits hold positions as pontifical appointees: Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, the emeritus Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Archbishop Angel Sixto Rossi of Cordoba, who will ascend to the rank of Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church during the Synod; Father James Martin, a controversial American Jesuit renowned for his pastoral work in the LGBTQ+ community; and Father Antonio Spadaro, the director of La Civiltà Cattolica, arguably the Jesuit closest to and most listened to by Pope Francis.
Father Agbonkhianmeghe Emmanuel Orobator, a Jesuit from Nigeria and President of the Conference of Jesuits in Africa and Madagascar, assumes a role as one of the witnesses in the synodal process.
The presence of Jesuits is also substantial within the group of experts and facilitators.
The list includes Brazilian Father Adelson Araujo dos Santos, Pro-Director of the San Pietro Favre Center for Priesthood and Consecrated Life Formators and a Professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University’s Institute of Spirituality. Father Paul Bèrè, originally from Burkina Faso and the recipient of the 2019 Ratzinger Prize, has contributed his expertise to several synodal assemblies. Peruvian Father Juan Jorge Bytton Arellano serves as the Vice-Rector of the Pontifical North American College. Italian Father Carlo Casalone, a medical graduate with a doctorate in moral theology, works in the scientific section of the Pontifical Academy for Life and is a lecturer at the Pontifical Gregorian University. He also holds the position of President at the Carlo Maria Martini Foundation and is a member of the technical-scientific committee of the Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation. He previously served as the vice-director at Aggiornamenti Sociali magazine. Australian Father Ian Cribb, Brazilian Father Miguel Martin, and American Father David McCallum, the founder and executive director of the Discerning Leadership Program, a project of the International Association of Jesuit Universities and the General Curia of the Society of Jesus, are also part of the list. French Father Christoph Theobald, a professor at the Centre Sèvres in Paris, specializes in narrative theology. While not a Jesuit, the Italian layman Paolo Foglizzo, who holds a degree in economics and later obtained a license in Doctrine and Social Ethics from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, worked for three years at the Secretariat for Social Justice of the General Curia of the Society of Jesus. He has been a part of the editorial team of Aggiornamenti Sociali since 2001.
