SJI Remembers Former Alumnus - Fr Gerald Tseng

SJI is saddened at the passing of Fr Gerald Tseng, an alumnus and a Jesuit priest. Fr Gerald studied at SJI for most of his early school life except during WWII. The La Salle brothers who taught at SJI had a profound influence on Fr Gerald and he aspired to be a teacher like them, dedicating his life to moulding young boys to be men for the future. He wanted to be a priest as well as a teacher and therefore chose to be a Jesuit. After receiving his Senior Cambridge certificate at SJI at the age of 21 in 1950, he left Singapore to join the Jesuit Novitiate in The Philippines.

After his ordination in 1963, Father Gerald was posted to Kowloon to teach before transferring to St Francis Xavier Church in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia for eight years. He finally returned to Singapore in 1976 to teach at his alma mater, SJI while playing the role of chaplain at the Catholic Junior College hostel.

Fr Gerald's quiet spirituality touched many throughout his journey as a priest and teacher, and his ex-students speak fondly of him as one of the nicest teachers at SJI. “Father Tseng taught me Science and he was very kind. He would tell us to mark topics in order of 1st importance, 2nd importance and 3rd importance, Basically, if you studied only the 1st importance topics, you would be all set,” reminisced Matt Lee, an old boy of SJI who was taught by Father Gerald in the 1980s.

“O God, by whose favour your servant, Fr Gerald, was called to the religious life and who witnessed to the message of salvation by his dedication to Christian faith and education, grant that he may be admitted to your eternal friendship with those who have likewise zealously laboured in Your Vineyard. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.”

Photo: Josephian Annual 1982, Fr Gerald (3rd from left) with his students from Legion of Mary, Queen of All Saints Pdm

Source: The Quiet Evangelist: Father Gerald Tseng, S.J. by Maureen Tseng, 24 August 2014, https://vialatropica.wordpress.com/2014/08/24/the-quiet-evangelist-father-gerald-tseng-s-j/ ↗ (opens in new tab)