The Ambassador of Malaysia to The Holy See, His Excellency Bernard Giluk Dompok paid a visit to the Jesuit Community of Saint Peter Canisius in Vatican on 08 August 2016 and joint the community for lunch. The active Jesuits of the community mainly serve at the Vatican Radio and various decasteries of The Holy See in the Vatican, while the rest are retired Jesuits who dedicated their whole lives to missions in Rome and the Vatican, especially in education of higher learning, among them is His Eminence Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, S.J., a renowned biblical scholar (Picture : The one using a walker, who is 93 this year).
His Excellency Bernard Giluk Dompok is the first residential Ambassador of Malaysia to The Holy See. The visit was conducted to better comprehend the various initiatives undertaken by the Jesuit Order in the Catholic network and to touch base and introduce the newly established Embassy of Malaysia to The Holy See. The visit was also part of Malaysia's appreciation to the contributions of the Catholic Church to the development of education in Malaysia which had benefitted not only the first few generations of Malaysians back in the earlier years, but also now. Prior to the visit to the Jesuit Community, the Ambassador had visited La-Salle Brothers and Brothers of Saint Gabriel and will visit the Mill Hill Fathers in Rome soon.
His Excellency Bernard Giluk Dompok expressed his sincere gratitude to the Jesuit Community for their dedication in providing community service to the various societies regardless of race, religion and background, in particular to the marginalised and vulnerable societies around the world.
There are more the 50 Jesuits residing in the community, coming from all over the world, among them is a Malaysian priest, Reverend Father Thomas Chong, S.J., who heads the Mandarin Section of the Vatican Radio.
The Jesuit Order engage the communities and societies in various fields which include education, intellectual research and cultural pursuits. Jesuits also give retreats, minister in hospitals and parishes, and promote justice and ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue.
The most notable figure from the Jesuits Order at the moment is the current Pope, His Holiness Pope Francis, the first Jesuit elected as Pope in history. He was elected on 13 March 2013.