Father Adolfo Nicolas, S.J., a former superior general of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), died May 20 in Tokyo. He was 84.
He was a member of the Jesuit community of Loyola House in Kamishakujii and had been ill for several years, reported
ucanews.com.A statement said he is deeply mourned by the Jesuits of Japan and Asia-Pacific, family and compatriots in Spain, and many friends around the world.
“I offer my sincere condolences to the Jesuit province of Japan, to Father Nicolas’ family, to the Jesuits in Spain and the Philippines and to his many friends all around the world,” said Father Arturo Sosa, the current superior general.
“His time as general was marked by his sense of humor, his courage, his humility and his close relationship with Pope Francis. All of us here at the Jesuit General Curia mourn him, and a special Mass will be offered here in Rome as soon as we can organize it.”
Father Sosa said all who worked with Father Nicolas in the General Curia greatly appreciated his presence.
“He will be greatly mourned throughout the society as a wise, humble and dedicated Jesuit, a man of grace and wisdom, simple, unpretentious,” he said.
Father Nicolas had a strong relationship with Pope Benedict and close and warm bonds with Pope Francis.
Born in Palencia, Spain, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1953 and was ordained in 1967.
As a scholastic, he was sent to the mission of Japan, where he was a professor of theology, rector of scholastics and provincial, later dedicating himself to social work with immigrants in Tokyo.
For 10 years, he lived in the Philippines, serving as director of the East Asia Pastoral Institute and as president of the Conference of Provincials of East Asia and Oceania. After presenting his resignation as superior general, he was a spiritual director at EAPI and in the Arrupe International Residence in Manila.
Father Nicolas served as superior general of the Jesuits from 2008 to 2016.
A Memorial Mass will be celebrated in Rome in the Church of the Gesu at a date to be determined. —CNS
