Fr. Reuter turns 90

Fr. James B. Reuter, S.J., a leading columnist of The STAR, will celebrate his 90th birthday on May 21.

As we all know, Fr. Reuter landed in Manila in 1938 at the young age of 21, to teach at the Ateneo de Manila and at the same time to continue his theology studies.

Thus, he was in Manila when the Japanese invaded the Philippines and together with other Jesuits and priests and nuns of different orders, were incarcerated in the Los Baños Prison Camp in 1941. While imprisoned, this energetic young Jesuit took charge of entertaining his fellow prisoners by composing songs and writing and presenting plays.

When the Philippines was liberated in 1945, Fr. Reuter was shipped back to New York to complete his studies and was subsequently ordained in 1946 at the Church of Fordham University, where he finished graduate studies.

As soon as he could, he returned to Manila and stayed for good — until today. The rest is history.

The 63 years of his life after his return have been spent with us Ateneans and the sisters and students of St. Paul’s College and other Catholic schools, conducting countless retreats for students and adults and serving as confessor-adviser to many, including young men and women, many of whom became priests and nuns.

In 1960, Fr. Reuter was given the task of establishing the Philippine Federation of Broadcasters now known as the Catholic Media Network (CMN). He also established the Family Rosary Crusade together with Fr. Patrick Peyton. He was also appointed as the spokesman for the CBCP during which time he incurred the ire of former president Ferdinand Marcos, resulting in his house arrest for several years.

His latest big project was the establishment of the multimillion-peso Our Lady of Peace Mission Hospital for the poor, located in Parañaque and substantially assisted financially by President Joseph Estrada during his presidency. This hospital treats the poor and indigent free of charge.

In these 63 years, Fr. Reuter has accomplished what perhaps would take two or three other people to achieve. And more importantly, he has touched the lives of legions of Filipinos who have become his life-long friends. They have remained close to him through the years. A good example is the Ateneo College Glee Club he organized and led from 1953 to 1960, and in which I continue to be active. The core members have stayed with him these last 53 years and we now call ourselves "Original Ateneo Alumni Glee Club."

Many collegialas proudly call themselves "Reuter Babies." Fr. Reuter is turning 90 in a few weeks. The many years of hard work in the service of the Filipino people have taken their toll on his health. He is now a far cry from the muscular, handsome young Jesuit who first landed in Manila in 1938. He is now in the twilight of his life. Fr. Reuter not only decided to spend the rest of his life in the Philippines, but he has become more Filipino than many Filipinos. Any chance he gets, he always expresses his deep love for our country and our people.

It is our intention, therefore, to share this legacy with all Filipinos, now and in the future. We hope to accomplish this by publishing, in a book, 12 of the plays he wrote, produced and directed for the stage, radio and television. A majority of these plays truly reflect his deep love and admiration for our country and people.

Apart from the 12 plays, the book will feature a short biography of Fr. Reuter generously embellished with many photos never before seen by most of us.

These books will all be launched on his birthday — May 21. We also intend to distribute thousands of these books and/or DVDs to universities and high schools all over the country. There will be no copyright so that the schools can stage these plays themselves anytime they want.

Fr. Reuter’s undying love for our country has not been unnoticed. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate awarded him honorary citizenship in 1996. Last Sept. 5, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Achievement.

Our objective, as earlier stated, is to distribute the books and/or DVDs to all the universities, colleges, and high schools in the Philippines free of charge.

The book is divided into three parts.

Part one is a biographical sketch prepared by Sis. Sarah Manapol, SPC, with many photos never before seen by his closest friends.

The main section, Part Two, contains the 12 selected plays with annotations from Fr. Reuter himself. In addition, this portion of the book contains an interesting exchange of letters between Fr. Jim and his family. Also included are articles he wrote when he was in prison, pieces written as a young Jesuit studying philosophy and theology at Fordham University and, interestingly, one written when he was still in high school (from 1930-1934) in New Jersey, U.S.A.

Part Three contains testimonials from prominent persons who are known to him and who have worked closely with him.

Fr. Reuter has waived all copyright claims to his scripts (45 at last count) so that schools and interested parties may stage them anytime they want without paying royalties.

It is his intention, and also that of the publishers, to share this legacy with all Filipinos, now and in the future. The plan is to distribute copies (to be produced subsequently in DVD format also) to as many colleges and universities as contributed funds will allow.

The organizers are raising funds for the purpose. At the same time, the book (estimated at 700 pages with colored photographs) will be sold at a reasonable price of P1,000.