Peter Hans Kolvenbach

Peter Hans Kolvenbach, SJ ( born November 30, 1928 in Druten, The Netherlands) was from 1983 to 2008 of the 29th General of the Society of Jesus.

Life

Kolvenbach was born in 1928 as the son of a merchant from Nijmegen and his wife Jacoba Johanna Petronella Dome Sino. After his schooling at St Peter Canisius College in Nijmegen Kolvenbach occurred at the age of 20 in 1948 the Society of Jesus.

In September 1958 he was sent together with a group of Dutch Jesuits in Lebanon. There he studied at the Université Saint -Joseph in Beirut Aschrafiyya theology. Here he also received in 1961 the ordination ( in rites of the Armenian Catholic Church ).

Subsequently, he worked in Beirut as a lecturer in philosophy, linguistics and Armenian. He was birituell due to his interest in the Armenian tradition, and has the right to celebrate in Latin and in the Armenian rite liturgy. In 1974 he was appointed Provincial of the Vice-Province of the Middle East (Lebanon, Syria and Egypt). 1981 Pedro Arrupe called him back to Rome and entrusted him with the management of the Pontifical Oriental Institute.

September 13, 1983 Kolvenbach was elected at the 33rd General Assembly of the Order of the 29th General of the Order, and thus replaced the commissioners appointed by Pope Paolo Dezza and Giuseppe Pittau.

Kolvenbach was a permanent member of the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

Kolvenbach resigned in 2007 from his position as General of the Jesuits, received the approval of the pope and summoned a General Congregation to elect a new General in January 2008. The 35th General Congregation has accepted the resignation of Kolvenbach as Superior General on 14 January 2008.