Rev. Fr. Percy Abraham S.J. by Rev. Fr. Peter Gomez S.J.(Courtesy L.K. Hettiarachchi-Friends of St Aloysius Galle 1950/1960 photos FB

Courtesy: L. K. Hettiarachchi /Friends who like St. Aloysious College Photos 1950/1960s FB

REV. FR. PERCY ABRAHAM S J

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The first and only native-born Rector of SAC

An article by Rev Fr Peter G Gomez S J

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Courtesy- ‘The Aloysian’ - 1990 magazine

Of the Rectors of St. Aloysius' College Fr.Percy Abraham is in a class apart. He was the only Rector to be a native-born Sri Lankan. He was Rector for only a very short period - from 1.9.66 to 4.5.69. But during this brief period he transformed the College beyond recognition.

Fr. Percy was born on the 10th. of February 1919 and had his secondary education at St. Joseph's College, Colombo. His brother, Lionel took to business and another brother, Prosper, took to law. Percy took to medicine and entered the Ceylon University College where he obtained his MBBS degree. After a period of internship in the Health Dept. he proceeded to Bangalore where he specialized in chest diseases and came back to serve his country again.

It was then that he felt called to serve God and responded to the call by joining the Society of Jesus on the 5th of June 1950. After "doing" his Novitiate in Bombay and his philosophy in Poona and Shembaganur he was posted to S.A.C. for his “Regency" on 10.5.1954, where he taught bioscience in the A.L. classes till 31.3.55. He was a very exacting teacher and got his students to slog at their work. He left Sri Lanka for Italy for his theological studies, and ordination to the priesthood which took place on 6.7.58, after which, he proceeded to The States and to Canada for higher studies in medical psychology and psychiatry. He returned to Ceylon in 1964 and was appointed Rector of S.A.C. on the 1st Sept. 1966.

In addition to being Rector of the College he was Prefect of Health of the Jesuit Community, Curator of the Bio-lab for Advanced Level Students, Moderator of the College Form Union, President of the Teachers® Guild, (ex officio) and of the S.A.C.O.B.A. (also ex officio). And all this despite the fact that at that time he was a chronic diabetic and subject to frequent bouts of diabetic coma. Debilitated though he was by his poor health - he was administered insulin injections every day - he was a workaholic and never shirked responsibility. He was utterly fearless in the face of criticism and supremely confident of himself in moments of crisis. He would never pass the buck on to others. On the contrary, he was ever willing to relieve others of their burdens overloaded though he was by his own burdens. He was interested in every department of the school's activities and was often seen in the pavilion watching his team (and he always considered the teams of S.A.C. "his" teams) playing cricket on the esplanade. Nothing concerning the school was alien to him, but he took a very special interest in the boarding house.

He kept a card index with a card for each of the boarders and each of those cards carried such. very private details as the family background of the boy, the economic condition of the parents, the conditions prevailing in the boy's home, the talents and deficiencies of the boy himself and much, much more. As a result of maintaining this card index up to date, Percy was always in a position to advise the boy as well as his parents on the course of action to be followed in any perplexing situation that might arise concerning the boy's future.

Percy, unlike previous Rectors, was not a believer in corporal punishment. Being a man who never shirked responsibility himself he believed in entrusting responsibility to his subordinates and to the teachers and students at the College. He thought that the best way to make boys responsible was to give them responsibility. Sometimes he erred and erred egregiously in this -as e.g. when a boy whom he appointed captain of Cooreman House in the belief that the appointment would reform him, had to be expelled from the school because he abused the responsibility given to him.

He often addressed the teachers on the psychology of teaching and allied subjects. An author whom he often quoted at these lectures was Carl Rogers whom he had studied very thoroughly. It was he who introduced the Stanford-Ginet tests for screening students for admission to the kindergarten. All the kindergarten teachers were amazed at the accuracy of the results obtained and at the elimination of subjectivism in the selection of students for admission.

He effected extensive and expensive repairs on the whole school, especially the School Hall to which he gave a completely new look. Of course, he entrusted the work to contractors but he taught the contractors more than they ever expected to learn from him. He fitted each of the Father's rooms with running water and face-lifted the sanctuary of the College Chapel.

He improved the food of the Jesuit community and had many other plans in the pipeline for the improvement of the school. But his superiors thought otherwise and relieved him of his duties. He ceased to be Rector in 1969. And this was just as well because the College was handed over to the Government in 1970.

Peter G. Gomez S.J.

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Note:

Fr. Abraham was a nephew of Sir Chittampalam A. Gardiner, well known businessman & philanthropist of the time.