Mangaluru: Rev. Fr. Brian B Pereira, SJ, has been appointed Provincial of the Karnataka Jesuit Province, taking charge as the head of the Jesuits in Karnataka after serving in key leadership and educational roles in Mangaluru and Bengaluru.
Fr. Pereira is a Jesuit priest whose ministry has primarily been centred on educational institutions, formation programmes and youth apostolate rather than parish administration. Prior to his new appointment, he was serving as the 31st Rector of St Aloysius Institutions, Mangaluru, a position he assumed in April 2025. He also served as Director of the Human Resource Development Centre (HRDC) of the Karnataka Jesuit Province at Ashirvad, Bengaluru.
His appointment to lead the Karnataka Jesuit Province brings to the provincial leadership a priest with extensive experience in Jesuit education, institutional administration, human resource development, formation and youth ministry.
From St Aloysius to provincial leadership
Fr. Pereira was serving as Rector of St Aloysius Institutions, Mangaluru, until his new appointment.
As the 31st Rector, he was part of the leadership of one of the prominent Jesuit educational institutions in Karnataka. His appointment to the rectorship in April 2025 placed him in charge of the institution’s administration and broader educational and institutional responsibilities.
Alongside his role in Mangaluru, he served as Director of the Human Resource Development Centre of the Karnataka Jesuit Province at Ashirvad in Bengaluru.
The HRDC role involved him in the broader formation and development activities of the Jesuit Province, adding to his experience in working with Jesuits and institutions across Karnataka.
His transition from the leadership of St Aloysius Institutions to the provincial office marks a move from institutional leadership to responsibility for the wider Jesuit Province.
Extensive experience in Jesuit institutions
Before coming to St Aloysius Institutions, Fr. Pereira held several important positions in Jesuit educational institutions and organisations in Bengaluru.
He served as Rector of St Joseph’s Institutions, Bengaluru, and earlier as Rector of St Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Bengaluru.
His responsibilities also extended beyond individual institutions. He served as Vice-President of the Bangalore Jesuit Educational Society, giving him experience in the administration and management of Jesuit educational initiatives.
These assignments have placed him in leadership positions within the Jesuit educational network in Karnataka and provided experience in dealing with institutional, academic and administrative responsibilities.
His career has therefore largely been associated with Jesuit colleges, institutions and formation programmes in Mangaluru and Bengaluru.
Leadership in youth and formation ministry
Fr. Pereira has also worked extensively in Jesuit youth ministry and formation.
He served as Director of Navasadhana Jesuit Pre-novitiate, a role connected with the formation of those beginning their journey towards Jesuit religious life.
He was also in charge of Jesuit Youth Works in South Asia, giving him responsibilities that extended beyond Karnataka.
Another significant assignment was his role as the founding Director of the Karnataka Jesuit Youth Apostolate’s IGNITORS Programme.
Through these assignments, Fr. Pereira has been associated with youth formation, leadership development and the engagement of young people within Jesuit ministry.
His experience across education, formation and youth apostolate has formed a substantial part of his ministry before taking charge of the Karnataka Jesuit Province.
Not a parish priest appointment
Fr. Pereira’s new role also needs to be understood in the context of his Jesuit ministry.
As a Jesuit Father, his principal assignments have largely been in colleges, educational institutions, formation centres and organised apostolate rather than as a parish priest in a regular parish church.
His earlier appointments in Mangaluru and Bengaluru have predominantly involved institutional leadership and Jesuit educational ministry.
His tenure at St Aloysius Institutions is one such example, where he served as Rector rather than as a parish priest.
Similarly, his assignments at St Joseph’s Institutions and St Joseph’s College in Bengaluru were leadership positions within Jesuit educational establishments.
This background distinguishes his ministry from that of diocesan priests whose assignments may primarily involve parish administration and pastoral responsibilities in individual churches.
New responsibility as Karnataka Jesuit Provincial
As Provincial of the Karnataka Jesuit Province, Fr. Pereira will now assume responsibility for the Jesuits and the wider mission of the province.
The Provincial is responsible for leadership and coordination of Jesuit communities, institutions, ministries and apostolic activities within the province.
His new responsibility will therefore extend well beyond any single college or institution.
The Karnataka Jesuit Province has a wide range of ministries, including education, formation, youth apostolate and other social and pastoral initiatives. Fr. Pereira’s experience across several of these areas provides continuity between his previous assignments and his new provincial responsibility.
His leadership experience in Mangaluru and Bengaluru, combined with his work in youth ministry and Jesuit formation, will now form part of his new role overseeing the province.
A career centred on education and formation
Fr. Pereira’s successive assignments show a ministry largely rooted in education, institutional leadership, formation and youth engagement.
From his work with the Karnataka Jesuit Youth Apostolate and the IGNITORS Programme to his responsibilities at Jesuit formation centres and colleges, his assignments have involved working with young people, educators and members of the Jesuit community.
His leadership of St Joseph’s College (Autonomous), St Joseph’s Institutions and St Aloysius Institutions further strengthened his experience in educational administration.
His appointment as Provincial now places him in a broader leadership role within the Jesuit order in Karnataka.
The transition also brings together the different areas of ministry in which he has served over the years, from educational institutions in Bengaluru and Mangaluru to youth and formation initiatives extending across Karnataka and South Asia.
With Fr. Pereira taking charge as Provincial, the Karnataka Jesuit Province will have a leader whose previous ministry has been closely associated with Jesuit institutions, education, formation and youth apostolate.
