Fr P. C. Mathew S. J. passed away on 11 Feb 2024, at 84. A former Provincial of the Calcutta Jesuit Province and Principal of St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, he was born in Kerala in 1939 and ordained in 1969. 

As a Jesuit, he dedicated his entire life to Higher Education. Fr Mathew was known for his optimism, faith, and ability to turn dreams into reality. He made things happen. He was a man on fire, inflamed, in his own unique way, with the love of Christ which propelled him forward with a compulsive, inner urge to commit himself single mindedly and wholeheartedly to his mission. He took any opposition as a greater challenge and opportunity to bulldoze his way ahead. He initiated the process of College Autonomy, organized and inspired the Alumni Association and built a group committed to philanthropy and support for the underprivileged. He was basically a simple, humble man, whose only joy and satisfaction, he once told me, was to make people happier.

We are thankful to Fr P.C. Matthew for the trail he blazed, for the ardour and zest he brought to everything he did. If there is a single adjective to describe him, it must be ‘restless’. The prayer of St Augustine should be on our lips when we think about him. “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee” May Fr. P. C now find his eternal rest with Jesus whom he loved and served with such unswerving fervor and loyalty!

– Patrick Walsh, SJ