Fr. Anthony Samy (EOF 78/59, originally from MDU) was born in Valanthur, Tamil Nadu, on 15th August 1943. Inspired by the Jesuits of St. Xavier’s College, Palayamkottai, where he did his PUC studies, he joined the Society on 20th May 1963. After completing his Philosophy, he requested to be sent for his regency in 1971 to Mauritius, from where he was sent to France for his Theology in 1973. He was ordained a priest in Paris on 30th May 1976, and returned to serve in Mauritius where he remained till the end of the 1980’s, completely involving himself in pastoral ministry, and working with school students belonging to the Eucharistic Youth Movement. Then he moved to La Réunion Island and was immersed in pastoral services. He was particularly attentive to providing pastoral care to married couples and families. He contributed greatly to the spreading of the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love) of Pope Francis, in the parishes of La Réunion. Based on family spiritual counselling, he wrote a book titled Chemins de Patience et de Joie (Paths to Patience and Joy) which has been revised and reprinted several times. Fr. Samy was keenly interested in the integration of divorced and remarried couples and their families in the local church, and attending to their spiritual needs.
While on his way to the Province Retreat in Lourdes, he had an unexpected fall in Toulouse on 17th July 2022. This caused brain bleeding, and he passed away on 19th July 2022. The funeral service was held in St. John the Baptist Church at Pau, on 27th July 2022, and subsequently, a Requiem Mass was celebrated in the Church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Délivrance by Bishop Gilbert Aubry of Saint-Denis, La Réunion. R.I.P.
Maria Annaraj, SJ
