Adolfo Nicolás was born April 29, 1936, in Spain. He entered the novitiate of the Society of Jesus in 1953, and completed his studies in philosophy before leaving in 1960 for Japan to immerse himself in the Japanese culture and language.

Between 1968 and 1971 he studied semiotics at the Pontifical Gregorian University. Between 1971 and 2002 he was professor of systematic theology at Sophia University in Tokyo. He was also provincial of Japan from 1993 to 1999.

From 1979 to 1984 Father Nicolás was director of the Pastoral Institute of Manila in the Philippines and then rector of the house for young Asian theology students. As well as his many years in Japan and the Philipines, Father Nicolás has also spent some time in Korea.

From 2004 to 2007 Father Nicolás was the moderator of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania, making his contribution to the growth of the Jesuit presence in Vietnam and in other countries.

Father Nicolás has a deep connection to and understanding of the concerns of the Asian region. He is strongly committed to inter cultural and inter religious dialogue. This commitment closely corresponds with the mission of accompaniment, so central to the work of JRS. Without a genuine and equal exchange when working with marginalized people, the opportunities for growth are closed off.

‘Those who enter into the lives of the people, they begin to question their own positions very radically’, says Father Nicolás. ‘Because they see genuine humanity in the simple people, and yet they see that this genuine humanity is finding a depth of simplicity, of honesty, of goodness that does not come from our sources.’