Father Benny was named Provincial of the Indonesian Province of the Society of Jesus in May. He is currently a lecturer at Universitas Sanata Dharma and the Superior of the Robertus Bellarminus community in Yogyakarta.

Father Benny came to Oxford to study for the MPhil in Development Studies in 2005, then went on to complete his DPhil at ODID, writing his dissertation on the labour movement in Indonesia.

'Politics of the poor and marginalised, that's what I learned at QEH', Father Benny said. 'Plus the camaraderie and diverse backgrounds that fellow students brought to the class and pubs! QEH helped shape my perspective of the world'.

Father Benny entered the Society of Jesus in 1994 and then studied at the Driyarkara School of Philosophy in Jakarta, during which time he became actively involved in the country’s Reformasi movement.

He went on to study Sociology at Warwick University and then spent time in Betun, West Timor, with the Jesuit Refugee Service Indonesia, helping East Timorese refugees. After completing theological studies he was ordained a priest in Yogyakarta in 2005.

After Oxford, he returned to Indonesia in 2010 and took up his position at Universitas Sanata Dharma.

In 2013, he was appointed Secretary for Social Ministries and Coordinator for the Migration Network of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific (JCAP). After finishing his roles as JCAP Coordinator in 2017 and JCAP Secretary in 2018, he returned to Universitas Sanata Dharma to resume his teaching post.