A celebration of ‘Life’ in a pandemic
June 17, 2020
12th Sunday in OT (A)
June 17, 2020
GUYANA
Fr Peter McIsaac SJ will take up his new role as Regional Superior of the Jesuits in Guyana and Jamaica, effective July 1 since his appointment by Fr Arturo Sosa SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus.
Fr Peter, 54, succeeds fellow Canadian, Fr Chris Llanos SJ, who will be returning to Canada for medical treatment following recent health concerns.
A Catholic Standard report said that Guyana has been a part of the British Province of the Jesuits for well over a century and the Jesuits working in Jamaica joined the Region two years ago.
The British Provincial, Fr Damian Howard SJ, expressed delight at the appointment commenting that Fr McIsaac is an extremely experienced Jesuit who has been a Regional Superior before and whose skills as a fine spiritual director will be greatly in demand at this challenging time.
Of his appointment, Fr McIsaac said he has been fascinated by Guyana’s “beauty and cultural diversity” since he was first sent there as a novice in 1991.
“My heart is in the Caribbean. Its many peoples, with their rich and painful history and their ongoing struggle for social transformation and freedom, have graciously invited me to be part of their lives and home. My life has been shaped by their love, and I have been strengthened spiritually by their faith,” he said, according to the article from Standard.
Fr Peter said it is his hope that building on the labours of the many Jesuits of the past who have shared the gifts of their charism with the Caribbean Church, today’s Jesuits will continue to find creative ways to help the People of God in this part of the world to seek and to find Him.
With just under 30 Jesuits in Guyana and Jamaica combined, Fr Sosa has made it known that a new Province will be created in two years’ time taking in the Jesuits of the Dominican Republic and Cuba as well as Guyana and Jamaica, at which point a new Provincial is likely to be appointed.
About Fr Peter McIsaac SJ
Fr McIsaac entered the Jesuit novitiate in Guelph, Canada in 1989. After philosophy studies in Chicago, he was sent for regency to Kingston, Jamaica, and then to Kenya for theological studies. After further theological training in Toronto, he was ordained a priest in 1998, returning soon after to Jamaica. He has spent most of the last 22 years there, serving variously in social ministries, in a parish, providing leadership in five schools in the Kingston area, lecturing at the University of the West Indies, and as the Director of the Archdiocese’s Theological College.
For two years he served as the President of the Conference of Religious of the Antilles, as consultor to four archbishops, and chaired the Archdiocesan Education Commission.
He was Jesuit Regional Superior of Jamaica from 2006–2012. He is in demand as a retreat-giver in the Caribbean, North America, and Southeast Asia, and in 2018 was assigned to full-time Spiritual Exercises ministry and spiritual formation.
