New General Treasurer of the Society of Jesus: Fr. Sebastian J. Jeerakassery
Father General has announced the appointment of the next General Treasurer of the Society. He will be Fr. Sebastian J. Jeerakassery, from the Delhi Province. He will assume office on 1 April 2023. He succeeds Fr. Thomas J. McClain (UMI Province, USA) who has held the position for the past 12 years.
In the general day-to-day life of the Curia, Sebastian Jeerakassery is known simply as “Jeera”. He was born in 1970, and entered the Society in 1989. He completed his initial formation in Patna, and studied philosophy and mathematics in Chennai. He completed his theological studies at the Regional Theology Centers in Patna. In 2004 he was ordained priest, and he pronounced his final vows in 2010.
After
his ordination, he served as the Provincial Treasurer of the Province from 2005
until 2012. During that time he was also engaged in a number of pastoral
activities, which included the responsibility of a parish for two years. In
2012 he became the director of the Loyola
Vocational Institute (Delhi), and in 2016 he was appointed Provincial of
his Province. In 2020, he was called by Father General to be a member of the
Treasurer’s team at the General Curia, where he served as an Assistant to the
General Treasurer.
Fr. Sebastian J. Jeerakassery SJ.
Father General notes of him: “His skills in economic and financial matters and his ability to promote teamwork - evident in his integration into the intercultural environment of the General Curia - are all elements that prepare him for this new mission... I am grateful for his generosity and availability in accepting this service to the universal Society.”
We asked Sebastian Jeerakassery how the role of General Treasurer of the Society was an “apostolic” rather than an administrative task for him. This was his response:
“The
responsibility entrusted to a Jesuit in the Society of Jesus is his ministry or
apostolate, be it the responsibility of a Provincial, Treasurer or Superior. Although
the nature of these works is administrative, its purpose is apostolic. It is in
the context of their apostolic purposes that these responsibilities find their meaning.
The daily mundane administrative works of a Treasurer ensure the smooth
functioning of the various apostolic works of the Society. Thus, the works
associated with the General Treasurer’s office are of themselves apostolic in nature.”
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