Jesuit Takes Fourth Vow

Jesuit Father Colin Tan makes fourth vow
By Daniel Tay
SINGAPORE – Exactly 20 years after entering the Society of Jesus, Father Colin Tan renewed his perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and professed his fourth vow of obedience to the Holy Father in mission on Feb 24 at the Church of St. Ignatius at a Sunday evening Mass concelebrated by 20 priests.

The fourth vow, unique to Jesuits, is a vow of special obedience to the pope in matters regarding mission; it is a promise to undertake any mission laid out in the Formula of the Institute that the pope may choose. As the priests processed out of the church hall after the concluding rite, the fully professed Jesuit Father Colin received a thunderous applause from the 1,200 people present.

During the dinner reception that followed the Mass, Father Colin thanked the many people – especially Brother Emmanuel Gaudette and Father Adrian Anthony – who had been part of his journey towards this day. Father Colin entered the Society of Jesus in 1988, professed his perpetual vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in 1990. In 1999 he was ordained a priest and has been serving as assistant to the Jesuit novice master, as well as the regional coordinator to the Jesuit Refugee Services, Singapore. In 2004, he travelled to Australia for his tertianship – the final phase of Jesuit formation.

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