Hour with the Saints - FR. PEDRO ARRUPE S.J., Servant of God

The May program of “An Hour with the Saints” will feature Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., a Spanish Basque Jesuit priest who was a man of great spiritual depth and was committed to justice. He lived from 1907-1991. After being ordained, Fr. Arrupe was sent to Japan in 1938 and hoped to work there as a missionary for the rest of his life. When Pearl Harbor was bombed, he was arrested and kept in solitary confinement. Fr. Arrupe described the privation and uncertainty he suffered and missed celebrating the Eucharist most of all. The experience of captivity filled him with a deep inner calm founded on a radical trust in God. Arrupe moved to Nagasaki, on the outskirts of Hiroshima, where he resumed his duties as the master of novices. On August 6, 1945, he heard the sirens wail, and an enormous explosion and felt the concussion that blew in the doors and windows of his residence. Moving outside Arrupe he saw the first of the 200,000 casualties of the atomic bomb and helped as many as he could. Pedro Arrupe was serving as the Superior of the Jesuits’ Japanese Province when he was elected Superior General of the Society of Jesus in 1965. He held the position until 1983. As the 28th Superior, he was most concerned that the Jesuits make a commitment to addressing the needs of the poor. His work resulted in the decree from the 32nd General Congregation, Our Mission Today: The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice, passed in 1975. This led the Jesuits, especially in Latin America, to work in practical ways with the poor. In spite of threats against their lives—threats that led to the murder of six priests in El Salvador in 1989—the Jesuits continued their justice work with the poor, with Arrupe’s support. In 1981 Arrupe suffered a debilitating stroke. Arrupe’s final prayer to the Community was: “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 entire with God. It is indeed a profound spiritual experience to know and feels myself so totally in God’s hands”. Fr. Pedro Arrupe died February 5, 1991, and his sainthood cause was opened in Rome at the Basilica of St. John Lateran Feb. 5, the 28th anniversary of his death. Please Register with Janet Hassan. Indicate if coming in person (Walsh room-space limits) or requesting ZOOM link. Include your name and email for coming to the Walsh Room.