Monday, April 4, 2011

Vinny O'Keefe on Pedro Arrupe

A brilliant blog by Fr. Jim McDermott, SJ about the life of Father-General Pedro Arrupe, SJ, as told in interviews with his closest asistant and former Vicar General Fr. Vincent O'Keefe, SJ.

A great idea to get these stories on tape before they are lost forever. Way to go Fr. McDermott! Below please find his preface, and one video. Simply click Vinny O'Keefe on Pedro Arrupe to enjoy the entire series.



Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J.
28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus
1965-1983

Anyone who ever meets Fr. Vinny O'Keefe, even for just a few minutes, walks away feeling they've made a new friend. He's just that kind of guy -- warm, solicitious, funny, the sort of person that makes you feel like you're the only person in the whole world when you're talking to him.

For 18 years, Vinny worked at the Jesuit Curia in Rome as one of Fr. Pedro Arrupe's general assistants. Vinny was the only assistant of Arrupe to stay with him from the beginning of his term as Superior General of the Society of Jesus until its end. And when Arrupe had his stroke, it was Vinny that the Society turned to to serve as Vicar General, until Pope John Paul II appointed his own man.

There's no one living that knows Arrupe like Vinny did, and certainly no one who had the sort of seat Vinny had as the Pope intervened in the Jesuits' governance and the Society went through one of its most challenging and uncertain periods.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Pedro Arrupe's death. To hear the stories of him is to come to know a modern, happy saint. And to watch Vinny O'Keefe tell them is to meet one of our living saints.

(NOTE ON THESE VIDEOS: These short videos are arranged in a specific order, with the one directly below this note being the first, and so on down the line. Of course you're free to pick and choose, but especially when it comes to the set of 9 on the Papal Intervention, the story flows in a rather specific order.

As you reach the end of a page of videos, click the link on the bottom right hand side -- "Older Posts" -- to get to the next set.)


Vinny O'Keefe, SJ; Go to the World

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