Pune: The Jesuits here will launch a year-long celebration to mark the 160th jubilee year of the arrival of the German, Swiss and Austrian Jesuits in western India on the feast of St Francis Xavier, on December 3.
The jubilee celebrations will commence with a thanksgiving mass celebrated by Emeritus Bishop Valerian D'Souza at St Xavier's Church in Pune Camp at 7 pm.
An exhibition of photographs of veteran Jesuits, who worked in Pune province, will also be organised at the Church premises. Speaking to Sakal Times, Fr Andrew Fernandes, Principal of St Vincent's High School and parish priest of St Xavier's Church, said that a calender on various Jesuits institutions in Pune province will also be released to mark the 160th jubilee year. Some of the veteran Jesuits who worked in Pune province include Fr Rudolf Schoch, Fr Alphons Oesch, 'Snehasadan' founder Fr Matthew Lederle, former Pune Bishop Henry Doering, and rural development works pioneer in Ahmednagar district Fr Herman Bakher, who recently celebrated his 89th birthday.
Jesuits have established a large number of institutions in western India, which comprise present Jesuit provinces of Pune, Mumbai, Goa and Gujarat.
Pune Jesuit Provincial Fr Bhausaheb Sansare said that various activities will be organised to mark the jubilee and to evaluate the Jesuits' role in spiritual and other fields.
The Pune Jesuit province comprises of Pune, Ahmednagar, Beed, Kolhapur, Satara and Sangli districts. Some of the Jesuits-run city institutions include St Vincent's High and Higher Secondary School, Stephen Niwas youth hostel, St Vincent's College of Commerce, St Joseph's Night High School, all in Pune Camp, Loyola School and Junior College, Pashan, St Joseph's Technical Institute, Swargate, Snehasadan Institute, De Nobili College and Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth on Nagar Road, and Berchman's Training College in Vitthalwadi.
About the Jesuits
Jesuits are members of the Society of Jesus, a congregation of Roman Catholic priests. The Jesuits belonging to the German Province and hailing from Germany, Switzerland and Austria, had arrived in western India in 1854 to start pioneering works in education, social work and literature.
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Dr. Ajit Lokhande - Sunday, 1 December 2013 - 03:56 PM IST
The book „Mission, Missionaries and Me“ is being published on 3rd Jan. 2014 on this occasion. Publisher: Jesuit Provincial Fr. Bhausaheb Sansare. The book contains rich and inspiring information on the social, educational and missionary work by the Jesuit Order in the Ahmednagar Dist. More details are available with Fr. Joe Pithekar, S.J, Tel. 9422534691
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Pune: Jesuits in the city have welcomed the release of Fr Alexis Prem Kumar, a fellow member of Society of Jesus, after eight-month long captivity in Afghanistan. Fr Bhausaheb Sansare, Pune Jesuit provincial, said, “We Jesuits thank Indian and Afghanistan governments for their support in safe release of Fr Alexis.” 
