Rev. Eugene L. Watrin, SJ
Rev. Eugene L. Watrin, SJ, 83, Jesuit missionary to Nepal, pioneer in educational and social work there, founder of a Jesuit college, celebrated athlete, friend of the late King Birendra, and beloved "bicycle priest", died February 29, 2004 at B & B Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal after a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer.
"He was wonderful," said Fr. Watrin's younger sister, Helen Klohe. "God must have loved the Nepalese people so much to have sent Gene to work there for 48 years to make their lives better." A funeral Mass was held in Kathmandu on March 1, at 1:00 PM. Over 1,000 people attended, many of them Nepalese dignitaries, many of them poverty-stricken village people. It was, according to Mrs. Klohe, "a fitting tribute to his life's work."
Born in Dayton, OH, in 1920, Fr. Watrin attended Chaminade High School where he was an honor student, member of the track team, and an actor in the school's dramatic productions, once taking the role of a priest in the "Bells of Shannon." After graduation in 1938 he started at Xavier University, where he competed on the freshman boxing team and the University's debate team. In 1939 Fr. Watrin entered the Jesuit novitiate at Milford, OH.
During his studies to become a priest Fr. Watrin earned his AB in English literature at Xavier University in 1943, and earned his MA in English literature from Loyola University in 1947, the same year he left the United States for the Patna Jesuit mission in northern India. After completing special Hindi language studies, he began a three-year teaching stint at St. Xavier's School in Jaipur, India. He was ordained a priest on November 21, 1952 at St. Mary's College in Kurseong, India, where he did his theology studies.
Following his ordination Fr. Watrin was assigned to the St. Xavier's School in Patna, India, where he served as a teacher and vice-principal until 1955. That year he was selected to join a group of Jesuit missionaries who'd been invited by Nepal's Royal Family to open and run schools in the mountain kingdom. Fr. Watrin began his long career in Nepal as a teacher at the Godavari School (which eventually became St. Xavier's Godavari). He remained a teacher for the rest of his life, but also took on a number of additional responsibilities. He was soon appointed principal, and in 1969 he began directing the Godavari Alumni Association (GAA), which has since become one of the largest and most active Jesuit alumni associations in the world. "Gene built the GAA into a very positive force for change in Nepal," says Fr. Gerald C. Drinane, SJ, a fellow American missionary in Nepal. "Besides the many facilities and activities he created at the downtown Kathmandu center, Gene helped the alumni and alumnae to reach out to the villages through education and house-building. He was a gracious host to any and all who came to the center, and took many out to the villages to see the social work being done for the poor. He started some cottage industries for the unemployed and women. He was always cheerful and very positive in his approach to the poor and needy. It is hard to imagine Gene without a smile on his face." In 1972, he earned a M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling from Loyola University Chicago, a degree he hoped would help him more effectively serve the poor.
In 1988, back in Nepal, Fr. Watrin founded St. Xavier's College, Nepal's first Catholic college. Initially the college classes were held in the building at St. Xavier's High School in the evenings to keep costs down. Fr. Watrin successfully spearheaded efforts to raise funding for the school's two state-of-the-art classroom buildings. Last year 200 of the 209 students at the college, which offers a variety of courses as well as bachelor's degree programs in sciences and social work, passed exams required to graduate and the number of applications was 10 times the number of open spots in the college. In 1999 he himself became a student at the college he founded when he began work on a BA in social work.
Fr. Watrin was invited to serve on advisory boards of numerous charitable organizations such as Ryder-Cheshire Home for the disabled and the Mahoguti Women's Weaving Center. He was appointed to the kingdom's first bi-national Fulbright Education Committee. He also helped start a Nepali chapter of Habitat for Humanity and in 1996 was named National Chairman of the organization. In 2001, he was selected by Nepal's prime minister to receive the kingdom's annual Social Service Award, and in 2003 the King presented him with the "Tri Shakhti Patta" (Thrice Powerful Medal).
Fr. Watrin achieved near legendary status in the Jesuit region in Nepal, where, even at the age of 82, he traveled almost exclusively by bicycle. An accomplished athlete, he used to compete in field hockey, softball, and basketball with his students. He continued to swim and play tennis until he became ill and was recently recognized as one of Nepal's outstanding sportsmen, just one of many accolades he's earned for his multifaceted work. He regularly traveled undercover to sensitive areas in the Middle East, where he ministered to Christians, many of them expatriates, who were discouraged from openly practicing their religion. He was a close friend of Nepal's late King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya. Many of his former students are among Nepal's elite: such as Prajwalla Rana, commander in chief of Nepal's army, and Samrat Upadhyaya, chief editor of Rising Nepal and author of Arresting God in Kathmandu.
Early in 2003, Fr. Watrin returned to the United States to undergo extensive chemotherapy. In October, 2003, he returned to Nepal. "Doctors told him the chemotherapy might only prolong his life for a few months," says Fr. Drinane, "but he opted to undergo this treatment, in the hope of doing more work for the people whom he loved in Nepal. He surprised the doctors, living longer than expected; but he didn't surprise those of us who knew him." Fr. Watrin will be buried in Nepal.
Funeral Mass was held March 1, in Nepal. A local memorial Mass will be held in May. Memorial gifts may be made to the Jesuit International Missions or Jesuit Partnership. 2059 North Sedgwick St., Chicago, IL, 60614.
Note:
Annuitant Pat Whitley writes, "I don't know if you knew who Father Watrin was, but he came often when we lived in Arabia, and had many receptions. You didn't have to be Catholic to like him. I compared him to the male Mother Theresa. While in Arabia, you'd see him riding his bicycle all over camp."