La compagnie des pères jésuites

Sidarouss

Fr. Fadel Sidarouss, SJ, novice director for the Near East Province, teaches theology at the Catholic theological school in Cairo; he's one of six Jesuits on the faculty there. He has translated Ignatius's Autobiography and the Spiritual Exercises into Arabic.

Members of Near East Province Members of the Near East Province gather at Sainte-Famille in Cairo for a dinner. Mr. Mourad Abou-Saif, SJ, from Syria, is a first-year novice; Fr. Wieslaw Gontarz, SJ, from Poland, is the assistant novice director; Mr. Dany Younes, SJ, from Lebanon, is a second-year novice.Mr. Nawras Sammour, SJ, a native of Aleppo, Syria, and a dentist, entered the Society in '94 and is now in philosophy studies at St. Joseph's in Beirut. With him is Fr. Alfredo Vizcara, SJ, from Peru, who is studying Arabic at St. Joseph's in Beirut. Nawras took Alfredo on a tour of his hometown during Christmas vacation.

Christian Life Community gathering Members of Christian Life Communities in Syria are at a conveventia, a weekend gathering at a little village in Syria. Participants come from various cities in Syria for prayer, discussion, and hikes. Jesuits are "animators" of the CLCs, whose members are Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Syrian Catholic, among many others.

Abou Fr. Sélim Abou, SJ, from Beirut, studied at the Jesuit high school there and entered the Society in '46. He earned a doctorate of letters from Paris in '62. He has taught philosophy and anthropology at St. Joseph's University, where he founded and is dean of the Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences.


Fr. Antoun Labbad, SJ, a Greek Catholic from Aleppo, Syria, has worked in high schools in Cairo, Alexandria, Homs (in Syria), and in France. He is currently in Paris, an Eastern Christian chaplain at the Jesuits' Collège St. Louis de Gonzague, very close to the Eiffel Tower.	Mr. Charbel Batour, SJ, from Beirut, studied biology at Lebanese University before entering the Society in '88. He is in theology studies in Paris but returns to Lebanon for pastoral work in summers, usually after a month spent in Dublin to perfect his English.

Fr. Jan Bronsveld, SJ, provincial of the Near East Province, entered the Society in 1956 and studied Arabic in Lebanon. Ordained 1973, he has studied economics in Cairo, Beirut, Paris, and London and has taught the subject in Bethlehem and Beirut.

High school students from villages in the province and the city of Homs, Syria, come to the Jesuit Center for a week of retreat and reflection. The center's activities range from offering the only Latin Rite masses in Homs to social activities, including basketball games and hiking.

	Fr. Salim Daccache, SJ, from Lebanon, studied at St. Joseph's University before entering the Society in 1975. He has a PhD in comparative religion from the Sorbonne; his thesis was on the tenth-century Muslim theologian Maturidi. He teaches philosophy and theology at St. Joseph's, directs the Jesuit publishing house in Beirut, and is rector of Notre Dame de Jamhour, the Jesuit high school there.
	Fr. Victor Chelhot, SJ, born in Aleppo, Syria, entered the Society in 1945. After studies at St. Joseph's University and Cairo University he was involved in a number of ministries in Syria, including editing a religious text for all Christian schools in Syria. He is director of the library at the Jesuit Center in Damascus.

Dutch-born Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, SJ, the Jesuits' superior general, is a member of the Near East Province. He studied at St. Joseph's University in Beirut and served as Jesuit superior there. He spent 25 years in the Near East Province, moving to Rome in '81 to be rector at the Pontifical Oriental Institute. He was elected to his current position in '83.

Sammour

Mr. Nawras Sammour, SJ, a native of Allepo, Syria, and a dentist, entered the Society in '94 and is now in philosophy studies at St. Joseph's in Beirut. With him is Fr. Alfredo Vizcara, SJ, from Peru, who is studying Arabic at St. Joseph's in Beirut. Nawras took Alfredo on a tour of his hometown during Christmas vacation.

Bou-Jaoude'

Mr. Salâh Bou-Jaoudé, SJ, from Lebanon, has studied in Cairo and Minya in Egypt and in Paris. He has taught courses on Christianity to Muslims studying to be imams at the Institut d'Études Islamo-Chrétiennes in Beirut.

Sawsan ("Lily" in Arabic) Kababi, from Aleppo, is on a three-day hike with fellow Syrians, Muslim and Christian alike. Jesuits in the Middle East sponsor these hikes as social occasions for the youth of the cities and a way of breaking down religious barriers. This hike (masir in Arabic) was organized by Dutch-born Fr. Frans van der Lugt, SJ, a psychologist now in Homs, Syria.


Fr. Michael Zammit-Mangion, SJ, born in Malta, entered the Jesuits in 1980. He is minister of the Jesuit community at Notre Dame de Jamhour, the Jesuit high school in Beirut, where he serves as counselor and coordinator for continuing education.	Fr Joseph Nassar, SJ, from Lebanon, is rector of the scholasticate, campus minister, provost of the Jesuit residence at St. Joseph's University, and a province consultor.

Rayes Fr. Hani Rayès, SJ, from Egypt, graduated from Sainte-Famille, the Jesuit high school in Cairo, and studied science at Cairo University before entering the Society in 1966. He did philosophy and theology studies in France and studied finance and computer programing in Montreal. He is campus minister and retreat director at St. Joseph's University.

Sion Fr. Bruno Sion, SJ, from Armentières, France, received a PhD in math from the University of Lille and then taught the subject at a Jesuit school in Lille. He came to Lebanon as a volunteer in '83, teaching at St. Joseph University's branch in Sidon before entering the Society in '84. He teaches math and is vice rector for finance at St. Joseph's.

Soubhi

Br. Atef Soubhi, SJ, from Cairo, is in charge of bus maintenance and the kitchen at the Collège de la Sainte-Famille in Cairo.

Mounir Br. Radi Mounir, SJ, is originally from Minya, Egypt. Here with Sainte-Famille students Raouf Camille Hayek and Nader Roger Michel, he works with junior-high students in the grade school as a regent.

Olivier Guevel, from Brittany in France, is a volunteer teacher at Sainte-Famille in Cairo.

Neuhaus Mr. David Neuhaus, SJ, was born in South Africa and lived many years in Jerusalem. He received a PhD in political science from Hebrew University and taugh the subject at Boston College before joining the Society. His novitiate years were split betwen Boston and Cairo, and he taught at Sainte-Famille in Cairo. He is in theology studies in Paris right now.

Raed Chokry

Mr. Raed Chokry, SJ, is from Port Sa'id, Egypt. He is in studies at the Université d'Aix-Marseille in France. This picture was taken during a trip that he and Paul Heck, SJ took to Mt. Sinai when they were in the novitiate together in Cairo.

Fr. Sami Kuri, SJ, was born in Mexico. After graduating from high school in Lebanon he entered the Society in 1937. He has been rector of the Pontifical Seminary, provincial, and director of the Catholic Press. He is director of Cercle de la Jeunesse Catholique, a youth organization.

Page maintained by R VandeVelde, vande@math.luc.edu. Updated: Tue., June 10 1997

A magazine of the American Jesuits
Spring 1997 Issue: The Middle East