Vicariate of Rome
Social Communications Office

PRESS RELEASE

CLOSURE OF THE DIOCESAN PHASE OF THE CAUSE FOR BEATIFICATION OF FATHER PEDRO ARRUPE GONDRA

The rite, on 14 November in the Conciliation Hall, will be presided over by the vicar, Archbishop Baldo Reina

On Thursday 14 November 2024, at 12 noon, in the Conciliation Hall, constituted for the Tribunal in the Lateran Apostolic Palace, the closing session of the diocesan enquiry into the life, virtues, reputation for holiness and signs of the Servant of God Father PEDRO ARRUPE GONDRA, S. J., twenty-eighth Superior General of the Society of Jesus, will be held.

The rite will be presided over by Archbishop BALDO REINA, Vicar of His Holiness for the diocese of Rome. The members of the diocesan tribunal who conducted the enquiry will be present: Msgr. GIUSEPPE D'ALONZO, episcopal delegate; Fr. GIORGIO CIUCCI, promoter of justice; MARCELLO TERRAMANI, notary actuary.

PEDRO ARRUPE was born in the Basque Country, in Bilbao, on 14 November 1907. He carried out his studies in medicine in Madrid, during which he made the choice to become a Jesuit. He entered the novitiate in 1927, and at the end of his formation was sent to Japan as a missionary. Having become master of novices, he was in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped on the city on 6 August 1945. To help the population, he turned the novitiate into a field hospital and, thanks to his medical training, was able to help many wounded people. This experience marked him deeply.

In 1965 he was elected superior general of the Society of Jesus, accompanying the order of Jesuits through the great change represented by Vatican Council II: the great effort of renewal that the Church faced was reflected also in the life and works of the Jesuits, who found themselves wondering what the Lord wanted from them in that moment of great change. The question that Father Arrupe held most dear was attention to the last: it was under his leadership that the Society reinterpreted its mission as service in faith and the promotion of justice. He devoted himself in particular to refugees, asking the Society as a whole to respond to this challenge. It is thanks to him that today the JRS (Jesuit Refugee Service) works in many areas of the world, including Italy, through the Centro Astalli. In summer 1981 a heart attack led to paralysis and the loss of speech. He left his role, and died in 1991, living this long period of illness praying for the Society he had led for over thirty years. The cause for beatification was opened on 5 February 2019.

Journalists and media workers who wish to participate must apply no later than 24 hours before the event, exclusively through the Holy See online accreditation system, at: press.vatican.va/accreditamenti.

30 October 2024

Giulia Rocchi, Press and Communications Office of the Vicariate of Rome,

tel. +390669886343/150; +393393749085

e-mail stampa@diocesidiroma.it; giulia.rocchi@diocesidiroma.it