International

International Ministries

The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) is probably best known for its work in education, research and spiritual direction. However, the Jesuits are also the largest missionary order in the Roman Catholic Church. This vibrant apostolate dates back to St. Francis Xavier (the patron saint of foreign missions) and his work in South and East Asia. More recently, this spirit was exemplified in the courageous Jesuit martyrs of El Salvador (1989). These six Spanish Jesuits were missioned to work in Central America and eventually assassinated for their commitment to faith inspired peace-building and defense of the poor.

Strengthening the Church through evangelization, education, the struggle for social justice and the promotion of sustainable human development, the Jesuits of the Wisconsin Province are immersed in a variety of international projects.

On aspect of this international dimension is referred to as Twinning. Twinning Agreements, which promote reciprocal sharing between international Jesuit provinces, have been established between the Wisconsin Jesuits and Jesuits in Eastern Africa, Kohima (Northeast India) and Ecuador.

Eastern Africa

The Eastern Africa Province, located in the Great Lakes region in the Horn of Africa is a massive and diverse region consisting of 230 million people and roughly the geographic size of non-Russia Europe or the United States east of the Mississippi. Despite the challenges which face the continentcivil conflict, poverty and illnesses associated with underdevelopment) there is tremendous hope, faith and vitality. Wisconsin Jesuits have served in a variety of ministries in the Eastern Africa (comprised of Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Sudan and Ethiopia) since our twinning was established in 1987.

• Pastoral: Parish staffing, sacramental, and catechetical ministry
• Education: University and seminary teaching; parish schools and high schools. The new Jesuit school at Gulu in Northern Uganda will both provide education and development in an underserved region and also reach out to the community with programs to promote reconciliation and forgiveness in an area just recovering from Africa's longest civil conflicts. The "Good Neighbor" program [link to slideshow?], an Eastern Africa Province initiative, provides education, vocational and self-help training for girls. The Jesuit school at Wau in southern Sudan has recently reopened.
• Vocational Training: Many Jesuit parishes and schools also divisions for skills training and outreach to provide jobs which support families. St. Joseph the Worker Parish located in the sprawling Nairobi slum of Kangemi can enroll up to 300 students in areas such as computers, electronics, carpentry, tailoring and secretarial. The Loreto Sisters at the parish provide a nursery school which also accommodates street children and those who are handicapped. A US non-profit organization was founded by a Jesuit and two Ignatian Associate Computers for Africa partners with African schools to provide computer labs utilizing re-cycled machines. The Jesuit novitiate in Moshi, Tanzania has developed a farm on the property (produce and dairy) and generates their own cooking gas with a bio-digester.
• Spiritual direction and priestly formation: Mwanaza Jesuit Retreat House offers preached and directed retreats. For an article describing this vital ministry, click here. Retreats and on-going formation of diocesan clergy, religious and lay ministers.
• Health care: East Africa seeks to address the health challenges of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, as well as providing adequate nutrition and clean water in many areas. As in other parts of the world, alcohol and drug rehabilitation help people reclaim their lives. Jesuits in Eastern Africa serve in all of these areas. For a look at Jesuit ministries with those affected by HIV/AIDS, visit http://www.jesuitaids.net/.
• Refugee accompaniment: The serious civil disturbances in Sudan, Congo, and Rwanda have produced a large number of refugees fleeing to neighboring Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. Insurrection in northern Uganda has also displaced many people within that nation. Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) accompanies and assists refugees worldwide. You can read about JRS Eastern Africa regional work at http://www.jrs.net/countries/eaf.php?lang=en
• Social Action: Various direct service to the poor, the orphaned and widowed and those affected by civil conflict. Schools provide extensive scholarship assistance to make education accessible to all.
• Social Research and Education: The Jesuit Hakimani Center (Justice-Faith-Peace in Swahili) aims to transform unjust structures in society through formation, research and advocacy to ensure sustained change to enhance human dignity. The Center works in Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Projects and reports address issues such as: economic justice, good governance, peace building and food security. Hekima College, the Jesuit school of theology in Nairobi, Kenya, offers an advanced degree in Peace Studies. Jesuits also participate in the work at the John Paul II Justice and Peace Centre (Kampala).
• Reconciliation Ministries:UNDUGU (brotherhood-sisterhood in Swahili) is a Jesuit animated popular education movement in Eastern Africa to build understanding between groups which have experienced conflict and division. UNDUGU utilizes music, dance, theatre, sports to engage families and youth to promote unity, respect for one another and cultural understandings. Jesuit also provided direct assistance to people displaced and injured in the Kenya postelection violence. To help establish conditions for returning to peace, Jesuits convened civil society forums which helped provide a space for dialogue and examination of underlying conditions which can precipitate violence. http://www.jesuit.org/SocialJustice/Africa/conflict/kenya/Default.aspx

Northeast India:

The Kohima Region has twinned with the Wisconsin Province since 2002. It is located in the “Seven Sisters” states of Northeast India. The region has houses and works in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. For their locations, click here.

The Northeast is marked by rich diversity but lagging development. 70% of the households lack electricity and safe drinking water. The region’s literacy rate lags behind more developed parts of the nation. The region enjoys a large and quite varied population, with over 240 distinct languages. There is political-social tension between the Northeast and the predominantly Hindu mainland India and also among the various tribal groups. Northeast India is one of the world’s last remaining mega-biodiversity zones due to its diversity of topographies. The beauty and richness of the many rivers, mountains, and hills make for beautiful vistas, but rugged travel and challenging communication. 16% of the population in the region is Christian, far higher than in mainland India, yet the Catholic Church is still small. The diversity, isolation, and poverty offer great challenges for the young Church. http://www.companysj.com/v204/voyageofdiscovery.htm

The majority of the Kohima Jesuits are in formation with an average age of 40 (US average is 63). In one generation, the Kohima Region has grown from three Jesuits missioned from South India to a region of over 105 Jesuits. Pastoral care, education, and social action are the integral means to share the Gospel. The projects of the Kohima Jesuits in Northeast India are located in the primarily rural, mountainous surroundings in the Himalayan hills and valleys between Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Tibet. The Kohima Jesuits are active in sustainable development and forest preservation to protect the livelihoods of indigenous people. Jesuits are serving in a variety of ministries in the Kohima Region including:

• Pastoral: Village parishes and extensive mission stations form an integral part of the work of Kohima Region Jesuits. For a look at the isolated mission in Maweit, Meghalaya, click here.
• Education: The Teacher Training Institute in Phesama, Nagaland trains teachers for Catholic school in the entire Northeast. The region supports of vocational/agricultural projects. It sponsors over twenty high schools, middle schools and primary schools. A teachers college is planned in Nagaon, Assam.
• Health Care: Dedicated religious women collaborate in dispensaries and clinics to provide health education and direct health services to all those who need them. Seasonal monsoons bring malaria outbreaks and prevalence of HIV/AIDS rates in the Northeast are among the highest in India.
• Social Research: Jesuits support human rights, religious tolerance, economic and social justice and environmental preservation. The Northeast India Social Research Centre provides publications, forums and programs on critical social issues in the region.
• Social Action: A large number of programs provide literacy training, self-help, micro-financing, vocational training, and orphan care to underserved tribal and indigenous groups.
• Diocesan Support: Schools in Nagaland and elsewhere educate and provide spiritual direction to local clergy, religious, lay leaders. Jesuits also respond to the apostolic requests from local bishops.

Ecuador

In 2005, The Wisconsin Province signed a twinning agreement with the Jesuits in Ecuador. Ecuador is also a land of great contrasts, comprised of a coastal plain, the high Andes, and western Amazonian rainforest. Jesuits are well established in Ecuador, serving there since their arrival in 1605. For a look at the first Jesuit house in Ecuador, click here.

• Pastoral: Ecuadoran Jesuit have a presence in nine of Ecuador’s 21 states. They are present in the major cities as well as rural locations and among indigenous people in the Andes. The flagship Jesuit parish in Quito serves over 10,000 parishioners through pastoral and social ministries.
• Secondary Education: Jesuits have founded and administer six colegios (secondary schools) throughout the country that serve all parts of Ecuadoran society, both training future leaders and providing a first chance at education for many of the underserved.
• Higher Education: Jesuits have been entrusted to the administration of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE). This national Catholic University has six campuses and a broad and diverse curriculum. PUCE provides scholarship, reflection and leadership training committed work on behalf of the common good in Ecuadoran society.
• Social Ministry: Jesuits in Ecuador provide various direct services to excluded groups. Hogar de Cristo [http://www.hogardecristo.org.ec ] builds houses for the poor and participates in the larger Hogar network of social services throughout Latin America. Servicios Ignatian Volunteers (SIGVOL) provides lay volunteers to Jesuit works and other direct services in the non-profit sector. In addition, Ecuadoran Jesuit social foundations and ministries respond to medical, legal, housing, nutritional and vocation training needs. The Jesuit-founded Working Boys Center has provided education, job-training and social support to working children and their families for over 40 years.
• Care for Refugees:Jesuit Refugee Services accompanies and serves large numbers of displaced Colombian refugees in Ecuador. Ecuador is home to the largest refugee population in Latin America (over 200,000) as a result of the 40 year conflict in Colombia.
• Popular Education and Vocation Training: Fe y Alegria has flourished in Ecuador. This Jesuit Movement for Integral Popular Education and Social Development is directed toward education of the most disadvantaged and excluded. Fe y Alegria also provides radio outreach and education. In addition, Ecuadoran Jesuits and their partners provide various alternative, vocational, literacy and evening divisions to meet the needs of the working poor.http://www.jesuitas.ec/main.php?pg=que/edupopular.html

Jesuits Worldwide

"The Society is not merely an international body with a variety of talents and resources; it has a universal character that transcends the provinces [...] The Society itself is called to be available to go anywhere across geographical and cultural frontiers where there is a need of working with Christ in the service of the Reign of God." -Acta Romana Vol 20, n 111

Jesuits, as the largest order of religious men in Catholic Church, are present in nearly every country in the world. Jesuits and their sponsored institions are organized into approximately 100 Provinces and Regions. Some provinces, such as Eastern Africa, include multiple countries. Some countries include multiple Jesuit provinces, such as India which has 19 (and growing!). The United States is currently divided in ten Jesuit provinces.

In addition to our presence in such a wide variety of geographies and cultures, Jesuits are an international body which has always sought to strengthen our ministries through international collaboration. Eastern Africa, Kohima and Ecuador are especially linked to the Wisconsin province through our established twinning agreements. * Similarly, Jesuit provinces throughout the world have also established such bi-lateral ties which form a web of relationships between people and projects across the globe. In addition, Jesuit provinces in particular geographic regions work closely with one another on shared apostolic preferences and planning. Such geographical clustering of provinces is referred to as an Assistancy or Conference. In this case, the Wisconsin Province participates with other North American provinces in the US and Canada through the Jesuit Conference office located in Washington, D.C. Finally, the Jesuit Curia in Rome guided by our Superior General, Most Reverend Adolfo Nicolás, S.J., coordinates the worldwide work of the Society.

* Wisconsin Jesuits are currently serving in Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Belize, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Argentina and East Timor.