Media Release

Mangaluru, Apr 30: Provincial of Karnataka Jesuit Province, Dr (Fr) Jerome Stanislaus D’Souza SJ was on Thursday appointed as the Jesuit Provincial of South Asia (POSA) by the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Fr Arturo Sosa SJ.

Fr Stany, as he is popularly called, was the provincial of Karnataka Jesuit province from 2014. Earlier, he was the rector of St Joseph’s Institutions, Bengaluru. He has a degree in philosophy and theology, besides a master's degree and PhD in Kannada from Bangalore University and Mangalore University, respectively. His doctoral research was on the rereading of Vachana Sahitya from the perspective of empowerment.

POSA is an important responsibility for the South Asian region. As POSA, Fr Stany will oversee the administration of some important Jesuit training institutes such as Vidya Jyothi Theological Institute, New Delhi, Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth Theological and Philosophical Institute, Pune, Satya Nilayam Institute of Philosophy and Religion, Chennai, Sadhana, Lonavla, ISI Delhi, ISI Bengaluru among others. He will coordinate the activities of Jesuit Conference of South Asia (JCSA) a body of Jesuit Provincials of South Asia and also animate crucial Jesuit works such as Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in this region which includes Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and India.

“Fr Stany has been an able administrator. As POSA, I am sure he will put to greater use such administrative skills for effective ministries in South Asia. Jesuits have come up with four important universal apostolic preferences for the coming decade, namely, showing the way to God, walking with the excluded, journeying with the youth and caring for our common home. And POSA has an important responsibility to see that these apostolic preferences are carried out at all the Jesuit institutes in South Asia,” said Dr (Fr) Joseph D’Mello SJ, the assistant to the Karnataka Jesuit Provincial.

Fr Stany hails from Mogarnad parish in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada district. He was also the regional president of the Conference of Religious in India.