The Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Fr Arturo Sosa, has appointed Fr Marek Cieślik as the new Provincial of the Near East and Maghreb Province (PRO), one of the 15 provinces and 1 region that conforms the JCEP. The Province comprises Algeria, Egypt, the Holy Land, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, and Turkey.

Fr Cieślik, 57, hails from Poland, and has a connection to the PRO Province that dates back to 1993, when he arrived in Egypt to study Arabic following his philosophical studies. He went on to further studies in Paris and Boston and returned to Egypt in 2004. He then moved to Lebanon, where he directed three schools in the Bekaa Valley and taught theology at Saint Joseph University of Beirut.

Over the years, Fr Cieślik has served several times as a Superior of Jesuit communities. He is currently both a Province Consultor and a community superior and gives retreat in Arabic.

Fr Cieślik takes up his new position on 8 September succeeding Fr Michael Zammit Mangion, who served as Provincial since 2020.