Jan Roothaan - On The Road

On The Road

Those were trouble times. Jesuits often suffered banishment from a country or another, especially in the Revolutions of 1848. Roothaan was sending them letters of encouragement in the face of tribulations. Roothaan himself had to flee Rome for two years, at the time of the Roman Republic. This gave him the opportunity to visit Jesuit communities and works in France, Belgium, Netherlands, England, Ireland; he was the first Superior General to ever do it. However, on his return, his health was broken, his strength began to fail, and fits of weakness announced his approaching end.