The Ateneo de Manila University announced the passing of Fr. Jose S. Arcilla, SJ at the age of 96 (b. September 18, 1927 – d. January 26, 2024). Fondly called Fr. Pepe, he entered the Society of Jesus on July 13, 1946, and was ordained a priest on June 19, 1960. Fr. Pepe was not only a distinguished scholar but also a writer, historian, and archivist.

A native of Catanduanes, Arcilla belonged to a group of Jesuit historians, including Horacio de la Costa, John N. Schumacher and Miguel Bernad, who presented an unapologetic Roman Catholic perspective on Philippine history.

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In his early years as a Jesuit Scholastic, Fr. Pepe undertook his Regency in 1954, teaching Latin, English, and Religion at the Ateneo de Cagayan (now Xavier University). After completing his Regency, he earned his undergraduate degree in Philosophy at the Jesuit Theologate Berchmans College in Banilad, Cebu, before joining the priesthood at Woodstock College in Maryland (now known as the Woodstock Theological Center), the oldest Jesuit seminary in the US. He then pursued his Master of Arts in History at Loyola University in Chicago. Following his studies, he returned to Ateneo de Cagayan to teach history at the college and took on additional roles as grade school glee club moderator and student counselor, appointed by Fr. Neil Quirke, SJ, the school rector.

In his role as the moderator of the grade school glee club, Fr. Pepe, alongside Mr. David Rago, nurtured students’ appreciation for music and singing. Acting as the music teacher, school pianist, and bandmaster, he made nightly glee club practices at the Xavier Gym memorable by preparing merienda for the members, consisting of maruya (fried saba banana) smothered with brown sugar, and served with salabat (sweetened ginger brew) to enhance their singing voices. Although the glee club disbanded eventually, Fr. Pepe transitioned to significant roles as an educator, including school counselor, where he entertained students with stories about ghosts on a bench by the Loyola House and under a santol tree across from the old cemetery, and organized class picnics along the beach in Cagayan de Oro. He actively participated in Boy Scout camping activities, overseeing field masses, and hearing confessions.

As a professor of Theology and History, Fr Pepe served as the Head of the History Department at Ateneo de Cagayan from 1964 to 1968 and was a faculty member at Ateneo de Davao from 1968 to 1969. In 1969, he moved to Ateneo de Manila. In the late 1980s, after an eight-year stint in Spain to complete his PhD in Philosophy and Letters at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, he returned to teach History at the Ateneo de Manila University and became the curator of the Jesuit Archives of the Philippine Province. Fr. Pepe dedicated 47 years to teaching history at both the College and Graduate School until 2016, also serving as Chairman of the History Department from 1989 to 1992.  Throughout his tenure, he engaged students, faculty, and the Ateneo de Manila community in discussions about the significance of history and how understanding the past contributes to transformation and positive change in the future.

Devoted to teaching and research, Fr. Pepe lectured on history and related topics in the Philippines and abroad. As the archivist for the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus, he co-edited the Philippines Section of the International Jesuit Encyclopedia published by the Jesuit Institute of History in Rome. He contributed essays to professional reviews and authored several books, including 150: The Ateneo Way, released for Ateneo de Manila University’s sesquicentennial celebration in 2009. This work earned him the Philippine Quill and the Anvil Awards of Merit in 2009 and 2011, respectively. Other notable works include “An Introduction to Philippine History” (1998), “Sueldo at Bayad: Essays on Philippine Lifestyle” (2009), “Rizal: A Tribute” (2011), “Formation of Philippine Society” (2012), “Jesuits in Mindanao: The Mission” (2013)., and “On the March: The Jesuits in the Philippines Since the Restoration” (2018). Fr. Pepe also served as a columnist for the Manila Daily and Business World, and contributed to Muse, an art, culture, and travel magazine.

As an expert in Philippine history and historian/archivist for the Jesuits in the Philippines, Fr. Pepe contributed articles, book reviews, and translated documents in Phil. Studies: Historical and Ethnographic Viewpoints (PSHEV), where he served as acting editor in 1971–1972 and associate editor and a member of the editorial advisory board in 1972–1973. His published articles in the PSHEV include: “Documents Concerning the Calamba Deportations of 1891” (1970), “Slavery, Flogging and Other Moral Cases in 17th Century Philippines” (1972), “The Return of the Jesuits to Mindanao” (1978), “Ateneo de Manila: Problems and Policies, 1859–1939” (1984), “The Enlightenment and the Philippine Revolution” (1991), and “The Culion Leper Colony, 1900s–1970s” (2009).

Ramoncito “Monching” Cruz, multi-awarded publisher of the coffee table books on the history of the Philippine Jesuits and a graduate of Ateneo de Cagayan grade school wrote about Fr. Arcilla, SJ:

Thank you, Fr. Pepe! For all the love, care, and guidance you gave me when you were assigned as our student counselor and grade school glee club moderator at Ateneo de Cagayan (now Xavier University). You exemplified the Jesuit value of cura personalis to the max. You enriched our minds and souls with your guidance and music. You taught us to love music with French, German, Spanish, Latin, Bicolano, Visayan, Ilocano songs, and Pilipino kundiman. Thank you for solemnizing our wedding in 1991. But most of all for all our work together in publishing our magnum opus, 150: The Ateneo Way, followed by Jesuits in Mindanao: The Mission, and On the March: The Jesuits in the Philippines among others – always on the move, always on a mission. May you rest in eternal peace with the Lord and your brother Jesuits who have gone ahead of you and some of whom you have written about. Muchas Gracias, Padre Pepe. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.

Ramoncito Cruz

Ramon Felipe Sarmiento, history and culture advocate from Catanduanes and columnist for the Catanduanes Tribune, also wrote about Fr. Arcilla:

A true pride of Catanduanes, Fr. Arcilla received The Outstanding Catandunganon Award (TOCA) in 1999. He was from San Andres, Catanduanes. A Jesuit priest, he made name as a historian of top caliber. He made invaluable contribution in understanding the historical development of Philippine nationhood during the Spanish regime, and in Philippine Church history.

Personally, I am indebted to Fr. Arcilla for his help in doing my master’s thesis on the Batong Paloway devotion (church and shrine in San Andres, Catanduanes). I keep his two essays on local Catanduanes history. One is on the Japanese period. Fr. Arcilla based his piece on personal knowledge: he was a teenager during the war. Second is a transcript of his lecture during the 40th anniversary of the Diocese of Virac. Interestingly, he had a different take regarding the martyrdom of Fray Diego de Herrera. He thought that it happened not in Batalay but probably up north, possibly in Viga. When I came to visit him at the Ateneo years later to ask him about the matter, he was already suffering from memory lapses.

My mother had fond memories of the kind and bright, but soft-spoken young Fr. Arcilla who was her classmate in elementary school, together with the former governor Sev Alcantara. Fr. Arcilla, gone now after a fruitful life, is among the last of their generation.

Ramon Felipe Sarmiento

In conclusion, Fr. Jose S. Arcilla, SJ left an indelible mark on Philippine history, education, and culture. His dedication to teaching, research, and the Jesuit mission has left a legacy, and he will be remembered fondly by the Ateneo de Manila University, the Xavier University (Ateneo de Cagayan), the Philippine Jesuits, and all those whose lives he touched. He struck a hopeful note when he wrote in “Reappraising Philippine History” (The Loyola Schools Review 1, 2001, 151-180):

Not that a ‘finished Philippines’ will ever be possible, since life never ends but continues to develop and there will always be room for improvement.

Fr. Jose S. Arcilla, SJ

We bid farewell to Fr. Pepe. A great Jesuit historian. A great Filipino. And yet so humble as a person. Requiescat in pace,

(Reported by Jojo De Jesus for Dateline Ibalon, based on references from the Ateneo de Manila University, the Philippine Jesuits, and Media Wise Communications, Inc./ Muse Books, publisher of many historical books by Fr. Jose S. Arcilla, SJ. The featured header photograph appeared in “On the March: The Jesuits in the Philippines Since the Restoration,” Muse Books.)