Lots of organisations choose an eminent person – living or dead – to be their inspiration or figurehead. Often this will be someone recognised as a saint, who has lived their life in the service of others. Jesuit Refugee Service does not at present have such a patron, and I would like to introduce someone who would surely fulfil that role. He is Pedro Arrupe, a priest in the Jesuit order, who died in 1991.
Pedro Arrupe was born in 1907, and originally started training as a doctor. But in 1926 he left that career and joined the Jesuits, a Roman Catholic religious order (also known as the Society of Jesus). In 1945 he was in charge of a college in Hiroshima where younger Jesuits were being trained. After the atomic bomb dropped, he converted the college into a makeshift field hospital for over 200 people injured in the blast.
In due course he became the superior (head) of all the Jesuits in Japan, and later in 1965 he was elected as the Father General – in charge of all the Jesuits in the world. It was a time of great development throughout the Catholic Church, and he led the Jesuits in responding to the Second Vatican Council – a meeting of all the Catholic bishops in the world – which began in 1962. He turned the attention of Jesuits and the people they worked with to a vision of the church where securing justice for everyone was as important as working for their spiritual growth. During this time, he reformed the Jesuit education system: pupils in schools were encouraged to become ‘people for others’ who would work for the welfare of others as well as their own academic success.
Securing justice for everyone was clearly very much in his mind when in 1979 he was moved by the plight of the Vietnamese Boat People fleeing the humanitarian crisis at the end of the Vietnamese war. Under his leadership, Jesuits throughout the world, wherever they were living, began to work for the welfare of refugees. And so, the Jesuit Refugee Service began. Active in nearly sixty countries around the world, JRS responds to the particular needs of refugees wherever they are.
JRS is not just an organisation of Jesuits, or priests, but of anyone who is inspired by the three core values of JRS – accompaniment (being with and befriending those in need), service (providing practical help, often including legal advice and in some parts of the world education for children and others in refugee camps) and advocacy (working to persuade governments and other leaders to secure justice for refugees).
And now the Catholic Church authorities are considering whether Pedro Arrupe should be considered a saint – an outstanding person whose life of holiness and service should be an example for others. This would be wonderful for JRS – we would have our own patron saint, who could be an example for JRS and for many others of a life of service and love for those in need.
Pedro Arrupe suffered a severe stroke in 1981, ten years before his death. During these ten long years of suffering and inactivity he spent his time in prayer. ‘More than ever I find myself in the hands of God. This is what I have wanted all my life from my youth. But now there is a difference; the initiative is entirely with God. It is indeed a profound spiritual experience to know and feel myself so totally in God’s hands.’
I don’t know how to encourage the Catholic Church to make Pedro Arrupe officially a saint, but JRS needs a patron, and we need Pedro Arrupe’s example and encouragement nowadays more than ever.
Fr Michael Smith SJ joined the Jesuits just over 60 years ago. Much of his working life has been spent working in education, both as a teacher and a chaplain in several schools. He came to JRS UK just over ten years ago working in the destitution department and helping run the food bank and clothing store, and welcoming refugees who come to JRS and helping them find whatever help they need. He describes it as the happiest time of his Jesuit life.
Here is the prayer for the Canonisation of Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ (1907-1991)
AMDG
PRAYER FOR THE CANONIZATION OF FR PEDRO ARRUPE SJ (1907-1991)
Heavenly Father,
You gave us Pedro Arrupe to preside over the Society which St Ignatius chose to be named after your Son.
You blessed him with a boundless optimism founded on deep faith and complete trust in your divine Providence.
For him your Son, Jesus, was everything.
Through his intercession grant us the favour we ask …
Above all grant us the grace of surrendering ourselves fully into your hands in sickness as well as in health, in joy as well as in adversity, in success as well as in failure.
Make us always persons for others.
Place us with your Son, Jesus, so that under His standard we may work for the establishment of justice and peace in the world.
We make this prayer through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be…
Prayer composed by Francis Braganza SJ former Assistant to Fr Arrupe and Bishop Emeritus of Baroda. Imprimatur: Godfrey de Rozario SJ Bishop of Baroda December 28 1997 Please report any personal favours received through the intercession of the Servant of God, Pedro Arrupe SJ to the local Jesuit Provincial of the area.
