Welcome

What is JESAM all about?

J E S A M stands for Jesuit Superiors of Africa and Madagascar. It is an interprovincial organisation at the service of Jesuits of Africa and Madagascar for the management of the African Assistancy's common houses of Jesuits in formation. There are currently three such houses, namely, Arrupe College Jesuit School of Philosophy and Humanities in Harare, Zimbabwe; Hekima College Jesuit School of Theology in Nairobi, Kenya; and Institut de Théologie de la Compagnie de Jésus, in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

The current moderator of JESAM is Rev. Fr. Fratern Masawe, SJ. Click here for the administrative organisation of JESAM.

Latest News

From the Moderator's Desk (Issue no.3)

Education is a major priority in Africa and yet, during the presentation of Africa as an apostolic priority to the world wide delegates of the 35th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus, one of the remarks from the delegates that struck me most was “We did not know that Africa has so few Jesuit schools”. We may have more social centres than schools, but it is circumstantial. It is most likely that the difference is a manifestation of the cry for structures of social transformation; no one, faithful to our tradition, is happy with the status quo. But both, social centres and schools, are in fact agents of change. And yet we have so few. Well, what
are the issues at stake here? Read more by clicking on the image below

 

Who are Jesuits?

Jesuits are members of the Society of Jesus, a religious order founded by St Ignatius of Loyola. The Order was officially approved by Pope Paul III in 1540. The Soceity of Jesus consists of priests, brothers and scholastics whose rootedness in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius bonds them together as "friends in the Lord." The mission of the Society of Jesus can be summed up as "the service of faith and the promotion of justice." Jesuits are working all over the world in various ministries, and they are the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church.

Jesuits in Africa

The Society of Jesus was formally approved by Pope Paul III in 1540. Eight years later a Jesuit mission was started in Congo. In 1554 Jesuits were sent to Ethiopia to initiate contacts with Christians there, and by 1561, Jesuits had journeyed into present-day Zimbabwe. In 1971, the Superior General, Fr Pedro Arrupe, created the African Assistancy to encourage collaboration among the many different groups of Jesuits working across the continent, and to foster common formation programmes. Click here for more details.