The event will be officiated by Rev. Fr. Arturo Sosa Abascal SJ, Superior General of the Society of Jesus and the global head of the Jesuits based in Rome. He will be joined by Archbishop Victor Lyngdoh of Shillong. Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma is also expected to grace the occasion.
Several Jesuit leaders from across the region and the wider Society of Jesus will be present for the inauguration, including Fr. Jerome Stanislaus D’Souza SJ, President of the Jesuit Conference of South Asia, Fr. Dionysius Gerard Leonard Vaz SJ of the Karnataka Province, and Fr. Karl Kiser SJ of the UMI Province.
Fr. Valerian Castelino SJ, the present Regional Superior of the Kohima Jesuit Region, will serve as the first Provincial of the newly established Kohima Province. Known for his engagement in grassroots social outreach, Fr. Valerian also coordinates the Social Apostolate of the Jesuit Region headquartered in Guwahati. Frequently travelling across the five states that constitute the Jesuit Region of Kohima, he has worked closely with rural communities—especially women—encouraging the formation of self-help groups that promote savings, micro-credit initiatives, and community leadership.
Fr. Valerian assumed leadership of the region in June 2024 following the passing of Fr. Anand Pereira SJ shortly after his election.
The elevation of the region to a province marks the steady growth of a mission that began in April 1970 when three Jesuits from the Karnataka Province—Fr. Stany Coelho SJ, Fr. Ligoury Castelino SJ, and Fr. Raymond D’Souza SJ—arrived in Kohima to establish the Nagaland Jesuit Mission. Their arrival followed a request by John Bosco Jasokie, then Nagaland’s Minister of Education and later Chief Minister, who invited the Jesuits to establish educational institutions in the state.
From its earliest years, the mission focused on expanding educational opportunities in rural tribal areas where access to schooling was limited. Schools were established in several villages in the southern Angami and Chakesang regions of Nagaland. Later, Loyola Higher Secondary School in Jakhama and St. Joseph’s College, established in 1985, responded to the growing demand for higher education.
Over the decades, the Jesuit mission expanded beyond Nagaland and Manipur into other parts of Northeast India. Jesuit institutions and centres were established among Adivasi tea garden communities in Assam, among the Dimasa people in Dima Hasao district, and in various locations in Meghalaya.
In Arunachal Pradesh, Jesuits began educational work among the Aka community in West Kameng district with the establishment of St. Xavier’s School in Palizi in 1998. Jesuit priest Fr. Vijay D’Souza SJ later contributed significantly to the documentation and revival of the Aka language by developing an orthography based on the Roman script.
The mission also grew through research and social initiatives. The North Eastern Social Research Centre, guided by Dr. Walter Fernandes, has worked for more than two decades on socio-political issues affecting the region. Initiatives such as the Legal Cell for Human Rights have promoted legal awareness and rights advocacy among marginalized communities.
Today, the Kohima Jesuit Province includes around 170 Jesuits, more than 100 of whom are from Northeast India. Their ministries span education, pastoral care, social outreach, research, cultural initiatives, and peace-building across the region.
Rooted in the spiritual vision of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Society of Jesus seeks the greater glory of God (Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam) through education, evangelization, intellectual inquiry, and service to humanity. From the missionary journeys of St. Francis Xavier in Asia to contemporary ministries of education and social justice, Jesuits continue to combine deep spirituality with active engagement in society.