The film, Pedro Arrupe: His Life and Legacy, was produced in 2008 by Georgetown University and features rare footage of Father Pedro Arrupe and interviews with his closest advisers.
Father Arrupe was the 28th superior general of the Society of Jesus, from 1965-1983. Born in Bilbao, Spain in 1907, he studied medicine prior to entering the Jesuit order. Before his service as superior general, he served as Japan's first Jesuit provincial; but a defining moment in Arrupe's life was his work caring for the victims of the Hiroshima's atomic bomb. He died in Rome on February 5, 1991, after suffering the effects of a debilitating effects of a stroke on August 7, 1981 just as his airplane landed from an exhausting trip to the Far East. He was succeeded as Father General of the Society by Father Peter Hans Kolvenbach.
Father Arrupe's writings are some of the best works on Ignatian Spirituality there is. One memorable piece is his reflection on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Before Father Kolvenbach was elected general, Father Arrupe's prayer was read to the elected delegates of the 33rd General Congregation, marking his true identity of being totally free to do God's will: "More than ever I find myself in the hands of God. This is what I have wanted all my life from my youth. But now there is a difference; the initiative is entirely with God. It is indeed a profound spiritual experience to know and feel myself so totally in God's hands."
This five-part documentary on Father Pedro Arrupe, SJ, is now available online on the Jesuit Channel, which is sponsored by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.
