Shining sons of Loyola by Tony Joaquin

WHO among the Catholic religious orders in the world have been the most despised and often expelled from countries they serve? The answer: The Order of the Society of Jesus, popularly known as the Jesuits.

In almost all the nations where Jesuit missionaries were sent to educate and to win souls, invariably these Jesuits got to be envied by local authorities leading to their expulsion — some with the encouragement of the diocesan clergy of that country.

To understand this state of affairs, let us look at what Ignatius of Loyola laid down as the Jesuit’s constitution. Here are some of the tenets.

1. The Jesuits were to be at the disposal of the pope.
2. They were to go wherever he ordered them to go to save souls.
3. They were to wear no special habit.
4. They were excused from communal prayer and masses.
5. All members were to take the three traditional monastic vows of poverty,
obedience, and chastity.

Another difference between the Jesuits and other religious orders was the fact that the Jesuits studied for other professions other than being priests such as law, engineering, finance, and the like. And they excelled in what they majored in.

In the Philippines, noteworthy contributions by the members of the Society of Jesus include the first observatory with powerful telescope which was installed and operated by Padre Federico Faura, a Jesuit meteorologist. Then after the war, Manila’s waterfront was “managed” by gangs and prevented legitimate labor unions to be formed. Fr. Walter Hogan, S.J. came into the picture and helped organize the waterfront. Being a big and tough man himself, he made sure everyone knew that the father meant business.

Together with these foreign Jesuit priests making their mark in Philippine history, we find a young scholar from Batangas who at age 30 became the first Filipino Jesuit Provincial Superior of the Philippine Province on December 8, 1969. His name: Horacio de la Costa, S.J. Fr. De la Costa distinguished himself as a fine writer in English and Spanish, a scintillating historian and a true scholar.

This was the period when the country was going all-out to nationalize foreign-owned firms as well as the different religious orders of the Catholic Church operating in the Philippines

Historically, these orders originally were composed of Spanish or Portuguese or even Dutch priests and nuns.

But after the Pacific War, the move was to gradually transfer management roles from foreign hands to Filipinos. Ateneo de Manila was among educational institutions that opted to do just that, and Fr. De la Costa was the first to be placed in that high managerial position. Other outstanding Jesuits included one in the field of Philippine campus productions which featured Fr. Henry Lee Irwin, who presented excellent Shakespearean productions in the Ateneo campus. Also, later in the 1950s, we had Fr. James B. Reuter, S.J. who presented not only stage but also radio and television plays to the delight of Manila’s intellectuals.

A popular play that Fr. De la Costa created was “Kwentong Kutsero,” for he liked to write satire and even light verses usually attacking the status quo in Philippine government and society. In the ‘60s Narciso Pimentel, an Ateneo graduate, took the idea of “Kwentong Kutsero” and presented a weekly radio comedy show with topics criticizing the government and its corrupt officials.

Among the excellent writings of Father de la Costa were “The Jesuits in the Philippines,” “The Trial of Jose Rizal and other essays.” Fr. De la Costa died of cancer on March 20, 1977. We celebrate the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola every year on July 31. – ?

Updated: 2010-07-09 — 05:12:30