by William Currie SJ
On 25 February 1961, I was among the Jesuit scholastics in the Japanese language school in Yokosuka, Japan, preparing to welcome a new group of applicants from overseas to the Japanese province. Suddenly one of the Spanish scholastics announced in a solemn tone, “One of the group arriving tomorrow, Adolfo Nicolas, will be our Provincial someday.”
Thirty-two years later that prediction came true, but little did we guess in 1961 that Nico would not only become Provincial but later Superior General of the whole Society.
Clear signs of leadership, however, were evident from early in his career in Japan. Soon after we began studying theology together in Tokyo in 1964, Nico led the way in persuading the theology professors to reduce the number of classes, to conduct them all in Japanese (rather than Latin) to increase the time spent on discussion, and especially to incorporate into their lectures ideas coming from the Vatican Council, which was then in session.
Nico was also a leader in organizing discussion groups among the scholastics to deepen our understanding of the Council documents, and as the ecumenical movement began to take shape, promoting dialogue between Jesuit scholastics and representatives of the Anglican, Lutheran, and United Church of Christ communities. Another pioneering effort he made with considerable success was encouraging communication between Jesuits and our counterparts in the diocesan seminary next door.
Nico’s ecumenical efforts reached a kind of symbolic culmination on 17 March 1967, the evening of our ordination to the priesthood in Tokyo, when a number of Protestant clergymen and their wives joined Nico, me, and my family for a joyful celebration.
Nico went on to many greater accomplishments later in his life, but these are the memories I treasure most with joy and gratitude.