Spiritans Across the World Gather, for First Time, in Africa: Fogarty Named Superior General of the Congregation
Spiritans from Duquesne University—among 115 fathers, brothers and lay Spiritan delegates from places as far flung as Haiti, Ireland, Canada and the Philippines—are gathering for the 20th General Chapter Meeting of Congregation of the Holy Spirit.
The monthlong meeting, which runs through July 22, is the first General Chapter gathering in Africa, where Spiritans have served for about 150 years and the community continues growing. Significantly, the meeting is in Bagamoyo, Tanzania, a former seaport and slave market where the first Spiritan missionaries arrived in 1868, liberating, Christianizing and educating slaves so that they could live with dignity.
As part of the meeting, the Spiritans have elected the Rev. John Fogarty, C.S.Sp., as its new superior general, who will guide the congregation in concert with the council in Rome. The group will continue the discernment process as it considers the selection of the rest of the General Council that will form the leadership team.
Fogarty, who has been serving as provincial superior of the Spiritan United States Province since 2009, will serve an eight-year term as superior general. In his role as provincial, he also served as a member of Duquesne’s board of directors and was chair of the Duquesne University Corporation. Fogarty is also a past interim director of the Office of Mission and Identity, and is a past director of the Center for Spiritan Studies. Prior to coming to Duquesne in 2005, Fogarty served in Rome as vice superior general for the Spiritans from 1998 to 2004. He was provincial secretary/councillor for formation before serving as vice-provincial of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit in Ireland. A graduate of the University College Dublin, Fogarty taught physics at Sunyani Government Secondary School in Ghana, was ordained as missionary priest and later returned to Ghana.
The Rev. Jeffrey Duaime, C.S.Sp., will replace Fogarty as provincial superior of the Spiritan United States Province. He currently serves as president of Holy Ghost Preparatory School in Bensalem, Pa., and has previously served as provincial and chair of the Duquesne University Corporation.
The Congregation is also celebrating the 25th anniversary of the congregation’s Office of Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC) during the General Chapter Meeting. Employees of Duquesne, America’s only Spiritan university, may recognize these themes from the strategic plan, guiding the campus community’s service to the poor, commitment to justice and interreligious understanding, and stewardship of the environment.
The Rev. James Okoye, C.S.Sp., spiritual director of the chapter, general councilor when the JPIC office was created and new director of Duquesne’s Center for Spiritan Studies, delivered the homily on the anniversary of the JPIC office’s creation. Okoye spoke about how the creation of the office and its development since the 1965 Vatican II Council.
During the general meeting, Dr. Jakaya Mirisho Kikwete, president of Tanzania, also addressed the general chapter delegates, pledging continued support of the Spiritan efforts. Kikwete visited Bagamoyo to inaugurate the Stella Maris Hostel run by the congregation.
The Rev. Joseph Shio, C.S.Sp., provincial superior of Tanzania and an honorary degree holder from Duquesne, also addressed the delegates.