The supreme legislative body of the Society of Jesus consisting of major ("provincial") superiors and locally elected representatives. It is called to elect a new superior general when the previous one dies or resigns and/or to address major issues confronting Jesuit works and Jesuit life. There have been 35 such congregations in the 450+ years of the order. The most recent one met from January to March 2008 to accept Peter-Hans Kolvenbach's resignation at age 80 and to elect his replacement, Adolfo Nicolas.

GC 35    2008 Election of Fr. Adolfo Nicolas as the new Superior General
                     of the Society
                     Description (George Traub, S.J.)
                     Document
                     Its meanings and messages (SCU's Ignatian Center for
                     Jesuit Education)
                     Congregation video clip

GC 34    1995
                     Description (George Traub, S.J.)
                     Document

GC 33    1983 Election of Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach as the new Superior
                     General of the Society

GC 32    1974-1975
                     Decree 4
                     See Service of Faith and Promotion of Social Justice

GC 31    1965-1966 Election of Fr. Pedro Arrupe as the new Superior
                            General of the Society
 

Various titles or names are given to the Mystery underlying all that exists-e.g., the Divine, Supreme Being, the Absolute, the Transcendent, the All-Holy-but all of these are only "pointers" to a Reality beyond human naming and beyond our limited human comprehension. Still, some conceptions are taken to be less inadequate than others within a given tradition founded in revelation. Thus, Jews reverence "the Lord" (the name of God, YHWH, is holy and its vocalization unknown); and Muslims worship "Allah" (the [only] God).

Christians conceive of the one God as "Trinity," as having three "ways of being"-(1) Creator and covenant partner (from Hebrew tradition) or "Father" (the "Abba" of Jesus' experience), (2) incarnate (enfleshed) in Jesus-the "Son," and (3) present everywhere in the world through the "Spirit." Ignatius of Loyola had a strong Trinitarian sense of God, but he was especially fond of the expression "the Divine Majesty" stressing the greatness or "godness" of God; and the 20th century Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner could talk of "the incomprehensible Mystery of self-giving Love."

The reluctance of some of our contemporaries to use the word God may be seen as a potential corrective to the tendency of some believers to speak of God all too easily, as if they fully understood God and God's ways.

The good news or glad tidings about Jesus.

Plural. The first four works of the Christian scriptures (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) that tell the story of Jesus-each with its own particular theological emphasis-and thus invite a response of faith and hope in him.