General Congregations 34

The 34th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus took place in Rome between January 5 and March 22, 1995. The 202 delegates appointed to participate in the gathering did not elect a new father general. Instead, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach convoked the assembly at a time, according to The New York Times, Jesuits were “enjoying a relaxation of tensions with the Vatican but grappling with the question of how to pursue the order’s mission of faith and social justice with a declining number of priests.” (The numbers of Jesuits worldwide had decreased from some 36,000 at the time of the 31st General Congregation in 1965-66 to less than 20,000 at the time of the 34th General Congregation.)

The delegates issued 26 decrees. Most of these decrees fell into five categories (Our Mission, Aspects of Jesuit Life for Mission, In the Church, Dimensions and Particular Sectors of Our Mission, and Organization and Governance). The delegates also approved an introductory and a concluding decree. The wordcloud below represents the most used words in the decrees, with a larger size denoting greater frequency.