Fr Rudolf Schoch remembered on 100th birth anniversary

Father Rudolf Schoch remembered on 100th birth anniversary
- CAMIL PARKHE Sakal Times Sunday, 29 September 2013 - 02:15 PM IST
Tags: Father Rudolf Schoch, Jesuits, St Vincent's High School, Loyola High School

Pune: The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) paid rich tributes to the late Fr Rudolf Schoch, educationist and former principal St Vincent's High School and Loyola High School on his 100th birth centenary on Friday.

Fr Schoch, born in Basel, Switzerland on September 27, 1913, had taught thousands of students when he was a teacher and principal at various  Jesuit-run schools in Pune and Ahmednagar districts. He had served as a member of the Senate of the University of Pune and on the Maharashtra School Board for many years.

Fr Schoch played an important role in the foundation of  the Dnyanmata High School in Sangamner in Ahmednagar district in 1948 and the Loyola High School in Pune in 1960. He is especially remembered for introduction of  the German language in the University of Pune curriculum and in the founding of the Max Mueller Bhavan in the city.  

Recalling services of Fr Schoch,  Fr Bhausaheb Sansare, Head of the Pune Jesuit province, described the late educationist as a great visionary and excellent financial administrator.  “Fr Schoch guided thousands of his pupils and also moulded their characters. He lived a very simple life,”  Fr Sansare said. 

Schoch had joined the Society of Jesus, a congregation of Catholic priests, in 1932 and came to India in 1938. In Pune, he studied Marathi and Sanskrit and also taught at St Jude's High School in Dehu Road between 1946-48. 

He also translated some abhangs of  Sant Tukaram  into German. Fr Schoch died in Pune in 2001 at the age of 88.  

Anup Y Attavar, an ex-student of the St Vincent's High School said, “Fr Schoch was an institution by himself and motivated us students to excel. His commitment to high moral values helped him make gentlemen out of the boys.”