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Bio: Count Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J.

The Black Pope, Jesuit Leader

Superior General of Society of Jesus (Jesuits)

Summary: Born in a rural town in Holland on November 30, 1928, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach spent decades of his early years in study and training. From the time of his Jesuit novitiate shortly before his 20th birthday, two decades passed before he took his final vows. Less than 15 years later, Peter-Hans was elected Superior General.
As the highest-ranking member of the Society of Jesus, sometimes referred to as the Papal Army, Father General Kolvenbach is answerable only to the Pope.

Early Life:

Birth: 30 Nov 1928 in Druten, Holland, 20 km northwest of Nijmegen.

Family: German mother, Italian father.

Education:

Secondary education: Canisius College, Nijmegen, studying modern languages.
University education: Berchmans Institute in Nijmegen, studying philosophy.
Graduate education: St. Joseph's University in Beirut, London, doctorate in theology. Sorbonne in Paris, France, doctorate in linguistics.
Languages: Fluent in Dutch, Armenian, German, French, Russian, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Chaldean, and English.

Career:

3 or 13 Sep 1983	elected 29th superior general of the Society of Jesus, during the 33rd General Congregation of the order.
1981	Rector, Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, and staff member, Gregorian University, Rome.
1974	became the provincial of the Vice-Province of the Middle East, taught linguistics and Armenian.
1971	transferred to Vice-Province of the Middle East.
1969 - 1976	St. Joseph's University in Beirut, Lebanon, professor of general linguisitcs
1969	Took final vows.
1967	doctorial studies in Armenian.
1963 - 1976	attended diverse specialized universities in La Haye (Holland), Paris, and Beirut, studying and teaching general and Oriental linguistics, and Promfret, Connecticutt, working in theology of spirituality.
29 Jun 1961	ordained as a priest.
7 or 17 Sep 1948	entered Jesuit novitiate at Mariendaal, Holland.

Current Position:

The Superior General is chosen by the congregation but answers only to the Pope. Usually this is a life-long position with the exception of the previous SG, Pedro Arrupe, who resigned following a stroke. The 33rd General Congregation accepted the resignation and selected Kolvenbach to succeed Arrupe.

Sometimes called the "Black Pope" because of the Jesuits' special vow of obedience to the Pope -- which converted them into the Roman Catholic Church's shock troops during the counter-reformation. This term is also used to refer to the color of their garb which contrasts with the white Papal robes.

Excerpts from Selected Speeches:

7 Oct 2004

Celebrating 125 years of Jesuit/Lay Partnership in Omaha, Nebraska

“Cooperating with Each Other in Mission”

“In the books of St. Ignatius you can read that all who work in our Jesuit high schools should be Jesuits. However, there was always one function reserved for a lay person. That was the 'corrector.' That means that the Jesuits should never beat a student. They was given over and entrusted to the laity.

“Members of boards of trustees and parish councils have a special role in the vision and governance of our Jesuit sponsored ministries. They should see to it that each of their members has the opportunity for sufficient formation in Ignatian values and the skills necessary for the special responsibility they bear. All who cooperate with Jesuits in any mission should grow in comfort with turning to Society leadership, Jesuit communities, and individual Jesuits for support in their work.”

Source: Creighton University 125th Anniversary of Jesuits in Omaha, NE.

4 Aug 2003 - Nairobi

Presented to the General Assembly of the Christian Life Community

“In this talk, I want to comment on what Saint Ignatius understood by "the genuine attitude which we ought to maintain in the militant Church." (352) This group of rules seems to be simply an addition to the Spiritual Exercises, which we tend to ignore, since they refer to a militant Church that seems to be no longer of our time. They appear to propose an attitude toward the Church that is not consonant with the teachings of the second Vatican Council. Some directors of the Exercises look on these rules of Saint Ignatius as so out-dated and embarrassing that they ignore them and do not refer their retreatants to them.

“Ignatian obedience is one of concrete fidelity to the real, visible hierarchy of the Church, not to some abstract ideal. We belong to the Church and we share its joys and pains, its martyrs and its scandals, because the Church is and always will be a communion of saints and sinners, of triumphs and tragedies, which we share.

“The vision of the second Vatican Council that inspires so strongly the CLC was not exactly and in all that of Ignatius. It comes as no surprise that he could not perceive the Church as 'democratic'.

“For Ignatius, authority in the Church was predominant and he avoided any form of opposition to it. The distinction between the Church as a social body and as spiritually founded did not exist for him.

“Pope Paul III, however, in whom Ignatius saw the hand of God, led a less than exemplary life. He had four children and, as pope, he favoured his family, not hesitating to name two of his descendants cardinals at the age of 14 and 17. It is true that as he grew older he became more aware of the deplorable state of the Church, of the scandalous conduct of the Roman curia. He started working toward the reform of the Church. But it is still to this person, in whom Ignatius saw the Vicar of Christ, that he turned for approval of his spirituality and of his apostolic goals.

“In Ignatius' mind, the Church militant, become later the Lord's vine, is a Church made up of sinners. It was symbolized by the moon, an image that is not of Ignatius' invention: a moon of rock and sand, which yet sheds light into our nights, a light that it itself receives from the sun.

“His apostolic orientations and intentions for the service of the Church occasionally met with rejection and attacks from the ecclesial authority.

“Following on a prayerful, deep and prolonged discernment, Ignatius set out on a pilgrimage in September 1523 to the Holy Land to work for the conversion of the Muslims in Palestine as a continuation of the Lord's mission. The Church authorities were not eager to have vagabonds wandering around the Holy Land. When the Franciscan custodian showed him an order of the Church to abandon his plan under pain of excommunication, Ignatius obeyed and took the road back.

“From this experience and others, Ignatius put down two rules in the Spiritual Exercises to help in making correct decisions. The first goes like this: “What seems to me to be white, I will believe to be black if the hierarchical Church thus determines it.” We should not make Ignatius say what he doesn't. If something is objectively white, no ecclesial authority can declare it to be black. Ignatius is speaking subjectively. I can see something in a certain way and be certain of my viewpoint, when in fact it can be wrong. Thus Ignatius was convinced that his discernment was correct and it took the Church to point him in the right direction.”

Source: Jesuits in Europe

28 Jun 2002 - Vatican, Rome

The Word From Rome - a good word for clerical culture.

Written by Vatican Correspondent John L. Allen, Jr., about Dutch Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, the General of the Jesuits:

“Despite his nondescript appearance (he always sports a simple black cassock), Kolvenbach is among the savviest figures in modern Catholicism. He personally follows the Armenian rather than the Latin rite. Kolvenbach’s tranquility, good humor, and sound judgment have allowed the Jesuits to regroup after the turbulence of Fr. Pedro Arrupe’s controversial generalship.”

Source: National Catholic Reporter