Becoming Jesuit Missionaries in Post-World War II Ethiopia

The Toronto Jesuit History Research Group invites you to join them for an online discussion of modern Jesuit activities in Ethiopia, with Dr Festo Mkenda, S.J., author of the recent A Splash of Diamond: The Jesuit Presence in Ethiopia from 1945 to the Present (2023). This book recounts the circumstances under which the French-Canadian Jesuits were invited back to the country after the expulsion of occupying Italian Fascists. It also details the missionary and pedagogical activities of these Jesuits from 1945 to 1976, and reflects on their lasting legacy both in Ethiopia and in the Jesuit Province of Eastern Africa more broadly.

Dr Festo Mkenda, S.J., is a Jesuit priest from Tanzania, currently serving as Academic Director at the Roman archives of the Society of Jesus (ARSI). A historian of Africa, Dr Mkenda holds an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, and a DPhil from the University of Oxford. Now mainly researching Jesuit history in Africa, his recent publications include Jesuits in Africa: A Historical Narrative from Ignatius of Loyola to Pedro Arrupe (Brill, 2022). He is the 2022 recipient of Boston College’s George E. Ganss, S.J., Award in Jesuit Studies.

Registration required. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting online.