Fr. Leopold Correa, fondly called Fr. Leo, was born on 14th September 1931. He joined the Society of Jesus on 28th June 1954, was ordained on 25th March 1966 and took his Final Vows on 15th August 1971. 

Fr. Leo was a very sociable person. He was a wonderful companion and a great human being. He had a terrific sense of humour and, many a time, one could hear peals of laughter coming from the classrooms where he was teaching. 

He was always available for any work given by the Society. He was warden and lecturer at St. Joseph’s College, Trichy (1969-1970) and St. Xavier’s College, Palayamkottai (1970-1972). He was Rector in two Jesuit colleges – Loyola College, Chennai (1974-1980) and Arul Anandar College, Karumathur (1980-1986). He was Principal of Loyola College, Chennai (1986 to 1990). He served as Secretary at St. Xavier’s College, Palayamkottai (1991-1996).

He was teacher/dean/superior/ in Jesuit formation houses at BeschiIllam, Dindigul (1972-1974), Vidyaniketan, Trivandrum (1996-2005), and St Xavier’s Institute, Negombo, Sri Lanka (2005-2006).

He was a good superior and when he was in charge of formation, he imparted to the young Jesuits Ignatian values of generosity, humility and availability. He had a soft corner for the poor and used to help poor students quietly.

In 2017, since his health was failing he was assigned to BeschiIllam, Dindigul, where, after a brief illness, he surrendered his well-lived life into the hands of the Lord on 17th April 2019. He was 87 and had spent 64 fruitful years in the Society of Jesus. He lived a full life that was a blessing to many.

• A.J. Thamburaj, SJ

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