The Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Fr Arturo Sosa Abascal SJ, has appointed Fr Peter Gallagher SJ (66) to be the next Provincial Superior of the Jesuits in Britain with effect from 1st September 2023.

Fr Gallagher, who is from Coatbridge in Scotland, entered the Society in 1973. After a period of training which included studies at Heythrop College in the University of London and at Centre Sèvres, the Jesuit faculties in Paris, he was ordained priest in 1988. He taught for three years at St Aloysius College in Glasgow before commencing doctoral studies in philosophy at King’s College, University of London. His principal apostolic work has been teaching philosophy at tertiary level, first at Heythrop College and for the last four years at Centre Sèvres in Paris. In both institutions he served as Dean of Philosophy.

Fr Gallagher has also had extensive experience as a formator of young Jesuits, as a superior, as a spiritual director and as an assisting priest in a number of parishes.  

The current Provincial, Fr Damian Howard SJ, who has been in post since 2017, commented: “This is a wonderful appointment for our Province and for Catholic religious in Britain. Fr Gallagher is a wise and experienced man with a deep understanding of our vocation and a tireless fidelity to Jesuit life. I pray that he will enjoy his term in this demanding but fulfilling leadership role.”

Fr Gallagher said: “For more than four hundred years British Jesuits have been working for the Church at home and overseas. It is an honour to be asked, at such a moment in our Province’s history, to try to support the members and co-workers in the way expected. I look forward to the task.”