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Posted: February 21
(Rome) Usually I focus on small details of a story that illuminate some bigger issue. Today it’s the big story that grabs my attention. I was blessed by the Pope today. Of course, he also blessed some 240 other Jesuits who were with me for a private audience in the Sala Clementina in the Apostolic Palace, but the fact remains that I was part of a private group that received a very encouraging message from the Holy Father. As my brother-in-law would say, “Cool.” All of the delegates and the staff of the Jesuit’s general congregation had what is now a very rare privilege of getting a private audience with the pope. Given his advanced age, he has prudently chosen to limit the audiences he gives to religious orders celebrating a major meeting. He made an exception of this policy for the Jesuits, and his warm words touched our hearts.
The background that made this audience so special was the difficulties that we faced when our then-superior general became incapacitated by illness and Benedict XVI’s predecessor, John Paul II, put his own delegate in place to run the Society of Jesus. Those were difficult times when many people were telling the Pope that the Jesuits had fallen into ruin and were rebellious and disorderly. The nay-sayers were wrong, a fact the Pope recognized when Jesuits did not rebel against him as the critics had warned him they would. So this morning’s audience and the Pope’s expression of his esteem and confidence in the Society of Jesus stand out all the more clearly.
We assembled at the great bronze doors at 10:30 and walked into the Vatican precincts past Swiss Guards standing at attention, while the tourists moved away to the left towards the basilica. Then we climbed several long flights of stairs into the interior courtyard in the heart of the Papal household. Another flight of stairs led to a corridor where we waited. At one point a small procession of Swiss Guards marched briskly along with some dignitary just finishing an audience. Then they opened the doors to the large, ornate meeting room where we would have our audience. Ornate marble patterns covered the lower parts of the walls while higher up murals gave the illusion of being in some Roman temple or basilica with four rows of marble pillars painted in perspective. On the ceiling was a mural of three angels bearing the keys of St. Peter while rays of light from the Holy Spirit poured down from the heavens.
We were told to wait silently and we mostly complied, but there was still a lot of coughing echoing off the marble walls. It was quiet, but not church quiet until the photographers entered the room and took their places. Then aides closed the doors and the quiet intensified. Suddenly modern lights hidden above the marble soffeting flooded the room with light and Benedict marched in, a single figure clad in white in a room full of men all in black. We all stood and applauded. Then Father General Adolfo Nicolás gave a brief speech expressing our pleasure to there and our desire to follow his words. Once we sat down the former theology professor addressed us.
He spoke for around 15 minutes and said how much he esteems the Jesuits and counts on them to help the Church, especially with the mission of reaching out to those who do not believe in Jesus or understand Him poorly. I was surprised at how much the Pope spoke in language close to our own way of expressing our mission. He talked about the integral connection of faith and justice, and praised the Jesuit Refugee Service as exemplifying a concern for the poor that wants not just to serve them but to be with them as well. He praised the courage of pioneering Jesuit missionaries like Matteo Ricci in China and the men who served the native peoples of Latin America. He included dialogue with culture among his lists of things he wants to do; that pleased me because I always say that the communication apostolate at its heart is a dialogue with modern culture. Of course, he also talked about the importance of remaining faithful to Church teaching as we navigate the difficult waters of engaging the contemporary secular world. The congregation is wrestling with the best way to express this balance of working on the frontiers at the same time as we remain true to the core values at the heart of the Church. His tone, however, was consistently warm and we were touched by the confidence that he expressed in our carrying out our mission.
He concluded his speech with a blessing, which I found very touching. As Jesuits we always see we exist to serve the Holy Father, but this is the first time that I could reflect on these thoughts while hearing him address us directly. It was a privilege to be part of this relatively small group that represents the thousands and thousands of Jesuits all over the world. The ceremony ended with him greeting the council members and then we had one big portrait. His aides carried in a white chair so he could sit in the center with the general congregation delegates spread out around him. Not a bad morning at all.
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