FINDING GOD IN ALL THINGS
Fr Rob Davoren SJ, Australian Province Treasurer:
“This year, the annual meeting of the Treasurers in the Conference of Asia Pacific was held in Tokyo, Japan. Our previous meeting was held in Sydney in 2023. Such gatherings provide opportunities to engage with other treasurers and treasury staff. This year, Fr Wilfred Lobo SJ, Assistant General Treasurer for South Asia and Asia Pacific, travelled from Rome to attend our meetings. His input and encouragement were most affirming.
“Our Japanese hosts did an excellent job looking after us, providing comfortable venue facilities and accommodation and having friendly staff available to address any needs or questions we may have. I thoroughly enjoyed our day trip into the local countryside, followed that afternoon by a tour of the city area of Tokyo. This included a visit to the Jesuit University of Sophia, the oldest Catholic University in Japan, founded in 1913. I was impressed with the campus church of St Ignatius, which included a huge columbarium in the basement.
“The meetings of Treasurers enable us to share with treasury officials from various countries from Asia-Pacific and to learn new ways of dealing with common tasks and challenges. I find while we share many issues in common, some are more country specific.”
John Daly, Australian Province Director of Finance:
“At this year’s Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP) Treasurers conference in Tokyo, the Japan Province was very generous in ensuring all attendees were given an opportunity to visit the Jesuit University of Sophia and the Akigawa Shinmeikutsu retreat centre, a Zen temple built in 1969 by Fr Hugo Lasalle, a German Jesuit.
“The annual conference is always a great opportunity for the Treasurers to share learnings, discuss processes and build relationships across our conference. This year was of particular importance, with Fr Wilfred Lobo SJ attending. He provided us with a detailed briefing on the new Statutes On Religious Poverty in the Society of Jesus and the Instruction for Administration and Finances.”
Banner image courtesy JCAP.
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