44 JCAM 2022 www.jesuits.africa Annual Review alled to the Service of God’s People Fr. John the Baptist Anyeh-Zamcho, SJ CFormation Assistant, JCAM In his letter titled Promoting Vocations to the Society of Jesus of 11th April 2021 addressed to the whole Society after wide-ranging consultation with those involved in the promotion of vocations, Father General, Arturo Sosa emphasised that “it is clear that the Lord is continuing to call men to the Society, but we can and must do more to collaborate with his call and help it be heard.” This does not seem like much of a Fr. General with scholastics during his visit to Madagascar Province. revelation, but faced with declining numbers worldwide, there has been added attention to vocation promotion. The provinces and regions of the Jesuit TABLE 1/ JCAM NOVITIATE STATISTICS 2022/2023 Conference of Africa and Madagascar YEAR ACE ANW AOC AOR MDG RWB SAP TOTALS (JCAM) have been thrust into the centre of Year 1 29 13 13 17 9 6 12 99 the vocation promotion conversation Year2 20 8 19 17 6 5 9 84 because JCAM is the only Conference today Totals 49 21 32 34 15 11 21 183 with a net increase in yearly intake into the Society. Father Arturo Sosa, however, reminded Jesuits that encouraging the TABLE 2/ JCAM NOVITIATE STATISTICS 2021/2022 promotion of vocations into the Society was YEAR ACE ANW AOC AOR MDG RWB SAP TOTALS neither an ancillary concern nor a reaction Year 1 22 10 19 13 8 9 11 92 to the decreasing numbers, but rather “an Year 2 16 12 8 17 11 5 13 82 essential characteristic of our Jesuit culture Totals 38 22 27 30 19 14 24 174 and identity.”