Peter Hans Kolvenbach, Dutch religious leader, Died at 87

Peter Hans Kolvenbach was born on November 30, 1928, and died on November 26, 2016.

He was the 29th Superior General of the Society of Jesus, the largest male Catholic religious order.

His childhood was spent in Druten, near Nijmegen in the Netherlands.

At that point, Peter attended Canisius College for his secondary studies.

At Canisius, Peter concentrated on modern languages.

Kolvenbach entered the novitiate at Mariendaal on 7 September 1948.

Unpon finishing philosophy studies at Berchmans Institute in Nijmegen, he was assigned to Lebanon, then, he completed his doctorate in Sacred Theology at Université de Saint-Joseph in Beirut.

On June 29, 1961, Kolvenbach was ordained a priest in the Armenian Catholic Church, an Eastern-rite church in communion with Rome.

The next years of his life were spent in academia, specifically in linguistics.

From 1964 to 1976, Kolvenbach taught general and Oriental linguistics in The Hague, Paris, and Beirut.

But, Kolvenbach was appointed Professor of General Linguistics and Armenian at Université de Saint-Joseph.

Kolvenbach served in that capacity until 1981, when he became rector of the Pontifical Oriental Institute.

Peter Hans Kolvenbach passed away at 87years old.