Pascual Chavez Villanueva
Pascual Chávez Villanueva SDB (born December 20, 1947 in Real de Catorce, San Luis Potosí , Mexico ) is a Mexican Catholic theologian, was Superior General of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) from 2002 to 2014 and thus the ninth direct successor to the founder of the order Johannes Bosco .
Life
The family moved to Saltillo, Coahuila , a few years after his birth , where he attended the Salesian School Colegio Mexico . After he had decided to become a Salesian of Don Bosco himself, after the novitiate in August 1964 he took the temporary religious vows and in August 1970 the perpetual vows. He was ordained a deacon on March 10, 1973 and a priest on December 8, 1973 in Guadalajara . He spent his first years in the Salesian community of Chapalita , Guadalajara, where he was active in training.
After studying at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome from 1975 to 1977 and finally obtaining a licentiate in theology, he was Professor of Scripture and Director of the Theological Institute in San Pedro Tlaquepaque from 1980 to 1988 . From 1986 to 1994 he was Provincial of the Order Province. As such he took on the XIII. General Chapter.
In 1995 he moved to Carabanchel in Spain to do a PhD in Biblical Theology at the Pontifical University of Salamanca . He successfully completed his doctorate in 1997.
In 1996 he was called to the General Council of the Order in Rome by the XIV General Chapter, although he did not belong to it, as Regional Council for the Interamerica Region .
On April 3, 2002 he was from the XXV. General Chapter of the Order elected as successor to Juan Vecchi as Superior General and confirmed in office on March 25, 2008 for a further six years.
His rectorate has so far been characterized in particular by:
- the death of Pope John Paul II in April 2005
- the 40th anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council in January 2005
- the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Dominic Savio on March 8, 2007
- participation in the V General Conference of Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean in Aparecida , Brazil.
- the canonization of the Salesian martyrs of Spain in October 2007
- Beatification of Ceferino Namuncurá in November 2007 in Argentina
- the 150th anniversary of the Congregation of the Salesians on December 18, 2009 with several writings on his part
- the 100th anniversary of the death of Blessed Michael Rua on April 6, 2010
On these occasions, the superior general wrote more extensive central ideas and letters to the Don Bosco family .
At his initiative, on April 25, 2009, a part of Don Bosco's relics for veneration until 2015, the anniversary of Don Bosco (200th birthday), was brought through the Salesian branch around the world.
As Superior General, he is also Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical University of the Salesians in Rome. He is also a member of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life . In November 2006, Chavez was also elected President of the Union of Superiors General (USG) for a three-year term.
Chavez holds an honorary doctorate in education from the University of Genoa (April 23, 2007) and in theology from the Universidad Católica Don Bosco , Campo Grande , Brazil (November 1, 2005). He has received awards from the Parliament of the State of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil (August 31, 2004), the Governor of Coahuila in Mexico (February 24, 2004) and the regional government of Piura in Peru (September 2006). He was also made by the President of the Dominican Republic on January 23, 2004 to the Grand Officer of the Heráldica de Cristóbal Colón order .
Web links
- Literature by and about Pascual Chávez Villanueva in the catalog of the German National Library
Individual evidence
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Johannes E. Vecchi |
Superior General of the Salesians Don Bosco 2002–2014 |
Ángel Fernández Artime |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Chavez Villanueva, Pascual |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Chávez Villanueva, Pascual SDB |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Mexican religious, Catholic theologian, Superior General of the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) from 2002 to 2014 |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 20, 1947 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Real de Catorce, San Luis Potosí , Mexico |