Father Arturo Sosa SJ, 31st General of the Society of Jesus

October 14, 2016

Arturo Sosa was born in Caracas (Venezuela), on November 12, 1948. He is the Delegate of Fr. General for the Curia and the Interprovincial Houses and Works of the Society of Jesus in Rome; he is also Counselor of Father General. He has a Licence in Philosophy from the Catholic University Andrés Bello (1972) and is a Doctor in Political Sciences of the Universidad Central de Venezuela.

During the 35th General Congregation, in 2008, he was chosen Counselor General by the Superior General, Fr. Adolfo Nicolás. In 2014, he joined the curia of the Society of Jesus, in Rome, as Delegate for the Curia, for the interprovincial Houses and Works of the Society of Jesus in Rome. These institutions are directly under the Superior General of the Jesuits. Among them are the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Pontifical Biblical Institute, the Pontifical Oriental Institute and the Vatican Observatory, as well as a number of international colleges and residences.

Between 1996 and 2004, Arturo Sosa has been Provincial Superior of the Jesuits in Venezuela. Before, he had been coordinator of the social apostolate in that country and Director of Centro Gumilla, a centre of research and social action of the Jesuits in Venezuela.

Fr. Arturo Sosa has had a long career dedicated to teaching and research. He has had a number of responsibilities in the university environment. He was a professor and a member of the Foundation Council of the Catholic University Andrés Bello and for 10 years he was the Rector of the Catholic University in Táchira. He did most of his research and teaching in the area of political sciences, in a number of centres and institutions.

In 2004, he has been invited by the Center for Latin American Studies of Georgetown University, in the United States, and was professor of Venezuelan Political Thinking of the Catholic University of Táchira.

He published a number of works, mainly about the history and the politics of Venezuela.