Thomas H. Smolich, S.J., M.Div. ’86 will become the international director of Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) in Rome on November 1, 2015. Prior to this assignment, he had been president of the Jesuit Conference of the United States from 2006-2014.
To prepare for his new role, Fr. Smolich spent four months with JRS in Eastern Congo, working with internally displaced refugees from that country’s war as well as with refugees from Rwanda and other parts of Central Africa. In May, he was in Lebanon and Jordan visiting JRS Middle East and its work with Syrian refugees. After a summer of studying Italian, he will spend the fall of 2015 working side-by-side with outgoing JRS international director Fr. Peter Balleis, S.J.
Founded in 1980 by former Jesuit Superior General Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., JRS accompanies, serves, and advocates for the rights of refugees and other forcibly displaced people. Headquartered in Rome with 10 regional offices around the world, the organization has more than 1,800 staff and volunteers, including 70 Jesuits, and serves upward of 950,000 refugees per year. In addition to health and social services, JRS offers formal and informal instruction — from pre-school to vocational training to computer and language classes — to approximately 280,000 children, young people, and adults each year.
“JRS goes where the need is greatest, to places where others are unable or unwilling to go. JRS witnesses to who we are as evangelizing people. Whether someone is a Catholic or not is not the question — we are there to preach the good news,” says Fr. Smolich.