The beginnings of the Society of Jesus beautifully reflected singleness of purpose and diversity of ministries. St. Ignatius of Loyola, whose spiritual vision was at the heart of the Society’s founding and progress, was quickly joined by other “friends in the Lord” from different backgrounds and with varied experiences. It was the joint deliberations of these first companions that led to the founding of the Society in 1540 for the sole purpose of propagating the faith and saving souls. This singular mission was understood to be received from Christ and was to be realised within the Church through such diverse activities as pastoral, sacramental and spiritual ministries, educational apostolates and care for the needy. The choice of such ministries was to be guided by the universal needs of the Church (especially as envisioned by the Pope), the specificity of times and places, and the individual talents at the Society’s disposal.

While they remained united by the single mission of Christ under one missioning superior, the companions’ commitment to respond to the greatest need wherever it was to be found saw them disperse to the most diverse regions of the world. St. Francis Xavier, one of the founding fathers, was already on his way to India in 1541, during which journey he set foot on the island of Malindi in coastal Kenya. Although this great missionary marked the Society’s first historical presence in Eastern Africa, the region received greater Jesuit attention than this incidental stop-over. St. Ignatius had himself desired to work in Ethiopia and, as the first Superior General of the Society, created the Province of Ethiopia in 1553, to which he assigned fifteen Jesuits. Their initial attempt to bring the then Christian country into the Roman fold having failed in 1557 (a year after Ignatius’ death), another group of Jesuits was sent there in 1603. This second mission saw a modicum of success, but was also closed down in 1632 amid much political intrigue. Beyond Ethiopia, one Polish Jesuit was sent to the Sudan in 1847and became Vicar Apostolic for Central Africa. His untimely death soon after brought to an end these early Jesuit initiatives in Eastern Africa.

It is a third Jesuit mission to Ethiopia that constitutes a section of the pioneers of the current Society of Jesus in Eastern Africa. Responding to an imperial invitation, Jesuits from French Canada arrived in Ethiopia in 1945. In the original spirit of the founders, they immersed themselves in the educational apostolate, ultimately helping in the establishment of the country’s first university. The 1960s and ’70s saw a greater flow of Jesuits to Eastern Africa. In 1961, Jesuits from Karnataka (India) arrived in Mwanza, Tanzania. The Karnataka Jesuits were originally invited to look after an Indian community there, but, identifying a greater need, they immediately expanded their ministry to the spiritual and pastoral care of the local populations in and beyond Mwanza. In 1969, Maltese Jesuits arrived in Kampala, Uganda. They placed themselves at the service of the Bishop of Kampala and took part in educational activities around the capital. In 1972, Jesuits from Ranchi (India) arrived in Juba and Wau in Southern Sudan where they concentrated on the training of the local clergy in a minor seminary. In the same year, more Jesuits from Bombay and Goa-Puna (India) were sent to Nairobi, Kenya, to establish a retreat house. In 1975, three Jesuits from Britain and from the Chicago and Detroit provinces of the U.S.A. joined the Sudan mission, carrying forward the training of the local clergy to the level of major seminary. To diversify the picture even more, some of these early missions enjoyed moral and financial backing from the Swiss, Austrian and German provinces of the Society of Jesus.

By 1975, therefore, Jesuits in Eastern Africa reflected the original diversity of the Society in terms of persons and ministries. They were from Britain, Canada, India, Malta and the U.S.A., and were involved in pastoral, spiritual, educational and formation ministries. Moreover, they had already attracted local vocations and had been joined by some young men from Ethiopia and Tanzania since 1970. However, to the extent that these men looked to separate provinces of origin for their missioning and support, they did not well reflect the esteemed character of the Society as a body of companions holding Christ’s mission in common.

This situation was radically altered in 1976. Responding to the discerned wishes of those serving there to be united into a single apostolic community, Fr. Pedro Arrupe—the charismatic 27th Superior General of the Society—created the Independent Region of Eastern Africa, coextensive with the political jurisdictions of Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Immediately serving under one regional superior were forty-six full members. Quoting from Paul IV’s 1975 Evangelii Nuntiandi (no. 66), Fr. Arrupe wrote: “This diversity of service in the unity of the same mission makes up the richness and beauty of evangelization.”

Indeed that richness and beauty was manifested by the Society’s growth in the number of members and ministries. The region’s overriding priority to form those who joined the Society saw an increase of its African members from nine in 1976 to thirty-six in 1986. The total number of Jesuits belonging to the region or working there on a permanent basis had doubled during the same period, with members originating from as many as eighteen different provinces of the Society of Jesus. Old ministries were strengthened and new ones established. The region had also hosted Hekima College, the first Jesuit school of theology belonging to and serving the whole African Assistancy. Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, then Superior General of the Society, was satisfied that these apostolic developments allowed him to establish the region as the full-fledged Province of Eastern Africa with a similar jurisdiction, which he did on 31st July 1986.

The achievements of the last twenty-five years, which is apparent in the diversity of the Jesuit apostolates and works in Eastern Africa provide ample reason to celebrate and plan for a vibrant future. While local and universal needs, coupled with a growing energetic membership, continue to call for new initiatives, limited resources necessitate choosing. And, as the inevitable expansion adds to the diversity of talent and ministry, the province desires to become closer than ever before to that one mission of Christ which unites all Jesuits into a single apostolic body, working to promote faith, justice and peace.