Pedro Arrupe Gondra

Pedro Arrupe Gondra was a Spanish Basque priest who served as the 28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus from 1965 to 1983. As he guided the Jesuits in putting the Second Vatican Council into practice, particularly with regard to religion that accomplishes justice and the preferential option for the poor, he has been referred to as the Society's second founder.

Pedro Arrupe Gondra originally attended medical school in Spain, but in 1927, after seeing the destitution in Madrid, he decided to join the Jesuits. Before arriving in Japan as a missionary in 1938, Arrupe had completed medical studies in several European and American nations. He was residing in Hiroshima at the time the American atomic bomb was dropped, along with eight other Jesuits. They survived the explosion, and Arrupe and his fellow Jesuits used their medical training to treat 200 patients at the novitiate-turned-hospital while also providing aid to the critically wounded and injured. He was profoundly affected by the misery of the situation.

Born: 14 November 1907
Died: 5 February 1991
Contribution: The second founder of the Society (led the Jesuits in the implementation of the Second Vatican Council); Used his medical background as a first responder to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.