Venezuelan Fr Arturo Sosa elected as new head of Jesuits

(Vatican Radio) Venezuelan Jesuit Father Arturo Sosa has been elected as the new head of the Jesuits who are meeting in Rome this month for their 36th General Congregation.

The announcement was made on Friday morning following four days of prayer and discernment. Fr Sosa was chosen by the 212 electors who represent almost 17.000 Jesuits working in countries around the world. He succeeds the 80 year old Fr Adolfo Nicolas who announced his resignation in 2014.

The new superior general of the Society of Jesus was born in Caracas on November 12th 1948. He obtained a doctorate in political sciences before entering the Jesuits and being ordained to the priesthood in 1977.

While the Jesuits are using a new electronic voting system on tablets for most of the proposals that they are discussing during their General Congregation, the election of the father general continues to be held with the traditional method of paper ballots, as first prescribed by the founder of the order, St Ignatius of Loyola.