In recent weeks, five Jesuits from across Africa and Europe have pronounced their final vows each offering a quiet but powerful "yes" to lifelong commitment to God, to service, and to mission.

Fr. Norbert Litoing, SJ (AOC); Fr. Modeste Mankubu Kasongo, SJ (ACE); Fr. Avelino Chico, SJ (ACE); Fr. Ismael Matambura, SJ (ACE); and Fr. Gabriel Kunonga, SJ (ACE) have each sealed their permanent incorporation into the Society of Jesus.

Their professions took place in different settings from Nairobi, Rome, to Kinshasa but all shared the same deep meaning: a final, irrevocable gift of self to Christ and the Church.

What Final Vows Mean

For many Catholics, the idea of “final vows” can be confusing. As Fr. James Martin, SJ, once wrote, even lifelong Catholics ask, “Didn’t you take vows after two years of novitiate? Aren’t you ordained already? Don’t you live poverty, chastity, and obedience anyway?” The answer to all three is yes. So, what makes final vows different?

When a Jesuit takes first vows (simple vows) after the two-year novitiate, he promises that he will enter the Society of Jesus. It is an offering, a beginning. Final vows then mark the Society’s full acceptance of that offering. As one Jesuit put it, at First Vows you accept the Society, and at Final Vows the Society accepts you, “for better or worse.”

After many years of formation, tertianship (including the full Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola), and rigorous evaluations sent from the home province to Rome, the Superior General approves “full incorporation” into the Society of Jesus. Then, at the final vow Mass, the Jesuit pronounces a solemn formula promising perpetual poverty, chastity, and obedience and, notably, a special obedience to the Pope regarding missions. That famous “fourth vow” speaks to worldwide mobility, a willingness to go wherever the need is greatest.

A Quiet but Powerful ‘Yes’

On March 28th, at Hekima University College, during the College Mass, Fr. Norbert Litoing, SJ, pronounced his final vows. It was, as one observer put it, “a quiet but powerful ‘yes,’” a lifelong commitment to God, to service, and to mission.

Presiding over the Mass was Fr. Kizito Kiyimba, SJ, (AOR), the Provincial of the East Africa Province of the Society of Jesus. In the homily, Fr. Wilfried Okambawa, SJ,(AOC), the West Africa Provincial’s Delegate for Formation, offered a simple and profound reminder that faith rests on trust. That message lies at the very heart of what Jesuit final vows mean.

Fr. Modeste Mankubu Kasongo, SJ (ACE) followed on Wednesday, April 22nd, in Iniangi, a locality in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Then, on May 1st, the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, a day marked by the figure of Joseph, humble servant and faithful worker, three other Jesuits pronounced their final vows, sealing their permanent incorporation into the Society of Jesus. Fr. Avelino Chico, SJ (ACE) did so in Rome, Fr. Ismael Matambura, SJ (ACE) in Nairobi, and Fr. Gabriel Kunonga, SJ (ACE) in Kinshasa. Each of these Jesuits has offered a renewed “yes,” ripened through years of discernment, study, ministry, and prayer.

In a world that constantly asks for certainty, the vow Mass stands as a different kind of sign. Poverty, chastity, and obedience hold out a deeper promise. They point to something greater, the presence of God with us, even in the unknown. As Fr. Wilfried Okambawa, SJ, reminded the congregation at Hekima, the most meaningful commitments in life, whether vocation, love, or friendship, rest on trust, honesty, and faith. That is what we witnessed in March, in April, and on May 1st. A free gift of self. A long fidelity to call. A quiet and powerful trust.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Society of Jesus, accompany and support each of these men, (Frs) Norbert, Modeste, Avelino, Gabriel, and Ismael. May their lives continue to speak, quietly and boldly, of hope, of service, and of God’s presence in our world.