Reverend Fr. Alphons Oesch S.J.

  Reverend Fr. Alphons Oesch S.J., a force of nature

You sowed in us the seeds of knowledge with tender loving care, nurtured in us a strong sense of purpose and belief, and patiently lifted us up when we stumbled, watching with immense joy and satisfaction as we burst onto the stage of life

Authors note: This is a homage to Fr. Alphons Oesch S.J., who was my Higher German and English teacher at St Vincent's High School (1975-78). In talking to a number of his ex-students it came quite clear that this tireless mentor stirred his students to great heights, with his impeccable leadership, boundless enthusiasm and legendary work ethic in the classroom and on the sports field, setting them on a lifelong journey of excellence. A. M. D. G. (Ad Majorem Dei Glorium, For the greater glory of God) 

 

You meet a lot of different people in life. While the memories of most fade with time, there is a handful that occupies a special place in your heart. It's hard to say why. Was it their integrity? Maybe their lifelong dedication to a cause? Or their ability to make you feel special? ... Yes, yes and yes. All of that and much more. It's hard to put them in a box and colour them with the same brush. It's easy to put labels on the most remarkable people that describe them unambiguously. Mohammed Ali: Fearless fighter inside and outside the ring. Mahatma Gandhi: Peace-loving revolutionary. You get the idea. But then there are few transcendental personalities ... those that have touched the lives of so many people across the decades ... each eager to claim a piece for themselves ... this is the rare cloth that the Swiss-German Jesuits like Fr. Alphons Oesch S.J. and his compatriot Fr Rudolf Schoch S.J. was cut from.

Frs Schoch & Oesch: Giants among mere mortals (photo: Sanjeev Javale)

Education

Alphons Ernst Oesch was born on October 12 1911 in Switzerland and did his schooling at the Gymnasium Immensee. Founded in 1895, 'Gymi', as the locals in Schwyz Canton of Switzerland like to call it, is a renowned boarding school for boys from Catholic families to prepare for work as missionaries. 

After finishing his noviciate at Tisis (the same alma mater as Fr. Rudolf Schoch S.J.) in Feldkirch, Austria), he took his first vows on September 15 1934 at the Berchmans Kolleg (once again the alma mater same as Fr. Rudolf Schoch S.J) in Pullach located in a suburb south of Munich-at-the-Isar in Germany. 

Next, he went to Heythrop College in London, England where he learned to speak chaste English while studying philosophy. Heythrop College, founded in 1614 by the Jesuits, had one of the largest Theology and Philosophy faculties in Britain and offered an educational experience that respected all faiths and perspectives to a tight-knit community of just under 1000 students and scholars. Soon after he finished his philosophical studies, he arrived on the shores of India as a missionary in 1937.

Young missionary in India

Circa 1947: Fr. Oesch with altar servers (photo: Ossie Gonsalves)

He went on to complete his theological studies at St Mary's Kurseong, nestled in the hills of Darjeeling it was a period of his life he truly treasured because he felt totally at home in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains, a locale reminiscent of his birthplace. He was ordained a priest in 1945 and assigned to teach at St Vincent's High School, Poona.

1965 Loyola team: Riklin Cup winners (photo: Sanjeev Javale)

Fr. Oesch served as Principal of Loyola High School, Poona from 1963 to 1966. 

Fr. Oesch S.J. with Mr. G K Teranikar (photo: Sanjeev Javale)

In the photo above Fr. Oesch is with Mr G. K. Teranikar, who taught at Loyola's and oversaw the construction of the sports field. Mr Teranikar, who earlier taught at St Vincent's from 1941-66, was awarded the National Award for Teachers on Teacher's Day on September 5, 1974, presented by then Indian President Mr V. V. Giri.

It quickly became apparent to Fr. Oesch that his life calling was to work with students providing them with a holistic education that would impart critical life skills to enable them to handle life's challenges with integrity, leadership, courage and empathy. It became his raison d'être to install in his students the wisdom to know what to say or do, the skills to make it happen and the confidence to go out and do it.

After his stint at Loyola High School, he returned to teach higher English and German at St. Vincent's High School till he retired in 1998. In order to bring out the best in his students he regularly held extra classes before the start of the school day or during school breaks. Such was his reputation for excellence that parents relentlessly lobbied the Principal to have their son assigned to the class taught by Fr. Oesch. 

There is a wise saying that goes, the true leader has no office hours. He'd get up at 4 am to diligently correct homework assignments, providing thoughtful and practical feedback. He was generous with his time and always willing to help anyone in need. The popularity of his open-door policy was proven by a steady stream of ex-students who would drop in unannounced for a tête-à-tête about whatever was bothering them.

His idea of learning a language was to have his students immerse themselves totally in it. No half measures for him. In his higher German class, his students had to speak German, read German aloud even think in German ... woe betides anyone who dared utter a word of English. It was quite common to see him pacing through the class speaking aloud, and all his students feverishly scribbling down what he said in German. The narrations were rambling if only to expose the nuances of the language with all its different grammatical constructs. 

My HSC batch of 1978 students from St. Vincent's was so proficient in German that the Maharashtra School Board fearing it couldn't find enough students in the entire state on par, sent the last moment request asking the school to have us appear for the lower course instead of the advanced level we had studied! Even now, a good 40 years later, the German phrases come instinctively without practice.

PSAA Champions circa 1960s (photo: VOBA)

Outside the classroom, Fr. Oesch was revered as a sports trainer nonpareil. Under his tutelage, athletes of St Vincent's High School reigned supreme for decades, laying claim to the record of winning the PSAA's (Poona Schools Athletics Association) Annual Athletics Championship for 60 consecutive years (as of February 6, 2007), an achievement recorded in the Limca Book of Records. 

Indian National Record awarded to St Vincent's

Many of the student-athletes who trained with him went on to win accolades on the International and National stages. Among them, Dinshaw Irani won Gold Medal in Shot put at the Asian Games, Peter Akkey won the National Gold medal in the Javelin throw and Patrick Sequeira won gold in the 100m and 200m sprint events. He kept his love for sports right into his 80s.

In early February 2001, Fr. Oesch suffered a fall that damaged his hip bone, rendering him incapacitated and bedridden. A cruel twist of fate for someone who was always on the go. He was hospitalised and word quickly spread through the grapevine. Students from far and near rallied to voluntarily visit him in the hospital. Even though he could not eat at all and had to be fed by tubes, he refused to let the pain win. Through all the pain and suffering, he always greeted his visitors with a big smile, asking "And how are you doing?" - what an indomitable spirit!

Fr. Oesch passed away on Easter Sunday, April 15 2001, a few months short of his 90th birthday.

The growth and development of students is the highest calling of leadership ~ Harvey S. Firestone

By this count alone, Fr. Oesch was truly a giant of a man who inspired thousands of students to blaze trails in all four corners of the world.

Fr. Oesch Indoor Sports Hall

Fr. Oesch Indoor Sports Hall

Responding to an appeal by the St Vincent's Sports Vision (SVSV) team, Francis Santan D’Souza, an ex-Vincentian based in Portugal, made a most magnanimous donation of $100k toward the renovation of Fr. Oesch Indoor Sports Hall.  The SVSV team proceeded to develop the finest indoor courts to NBA/FIBA standards using imported maple-wood floors. The renovation work began in December 2018 and was completed in a record time of three months when it was inaugurated by Francis D’Souza, who had flown down from Portugal, especially for the occasion. 

State-of-the-art Oesch Sports Hall for basketball (photo:SVSV)

The walls have been acoustically treated to absorb sound and minimise reverb and echo. The first thing you see as you enter the hall is a huge portrait of Rev. Fr. Oesch, flanked by the school emblem and ‘Vincenti Dabitur’ and ‘Do. Dare. And Win.’ which are the school’s clarion calls. One entire wall is covered with nostalgic black and white images of young Vincentians. These photos were gleaned from various archives showing star sportsmen and athletes of the prevailing eras. These include a runner-up at the Asian Games, and winners of various track and field events at the inter-school, city and state levels.

The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers ~ Ralph Nader

Some tributes from staff and students

Growing up, I recollect my father, Prof. Thomas D'Souza, speaking about Fr Oesch quite frequently.  He was my father's coach, though briefly, in long-distance running during his student days at Agricultural College of Poona in 1951- 55. Quite interestingly my father was not a student of Fr Oesch. He frequently attended the morning Sunday Mass at St Xavier's Church, often in full NCC uniform - trying to avoid making too much noise in the clanky boots. Before long, he was training with Fr Oesch at St Vincent's grounds. Dad always remarked about his scientific approach to training that ultimately helped him become the Inter-University cross country champion for 3 years in a row ~ Joe D'Souza (Loyola SSC '76 batch)

I had started Maths classes for some of my Std. VIII students who were not performing as well as I wanted. After a quick lunch, I told them to assemble in an appointed classroom. A few good students approached me and requested that they too be allowed to join the extra classes. I agreed on the condition that each good student takes a needful one under his wing. They had to work together, review and mark the work then show it to me. Well, it turned out to be a real success. Fr. Oesch came to know I was holding these classes and wanted to know the 'how and why'. I explained it all to him and then he wanted to know if I was charging a fee. When I told him there was no fee involved, he said, "If you do anything for nothing, they will not realise the value so you must charge, even a nominal small sum". I did as he advised and we had a feast at the end of the year with the money we collected ~ Mrs Celine D'Sa, from her autobiography 'Of Teachers, Teaching and Tables'.

As young mischievous boys, we would often scream and bellow in class, as if protesting the 1971 war, slam our school desktops loudly, make tropical monkey sounds and throw pieces of chalk all over the classroom before the teacher entered the class. Fr. Oesch would just scrunch his bushy eyebrows and portray a picture of sadness, the likes of which could melt even a stone heart. It seemed that he believed in the dictum of thinking twice before saying nothing. That incredibly silent posture, fraught with meaning and implication, brought discipline even to the naughtiest child in the class.  In 1974, after graduating from St Vincent's School I went back to Fr. Oesch to help me prepare for the Services Selection Board for entry into the National Defence Academy. He immediately wrote a letter to the Commandant of the Army School of Physical Training, who was an ex-Vincentian, to allow me to train on their obstacle course. After practising on the obstacle course for three months, I was fully ready for the physical test in Bangalore. It wasn’t a surprise when during the allotted time of three minutes I completed the entire course flawlessly and also repeated the three most difficult obstacles, thus earning the highest marks in my batch of candidates. ~ Capt. Anil Gonsalves IN - Retd. (Batch of '74)

Says Germaine Albuquerque (Batch of '76): For me, the two qualities that instantly come to mind when I think of Fr. Oesch are "dedication and discipline".  And think of him I do often. In fact even today, my undergrad students hear me holding up Fr. Oesch as a paragon of excellence. He was very generous with his time, coming daily at 4 pm sharp and leaving precisely at 6 pm - with enviable Swiss timing precision. Practice time was all about technique and repetition. His sole purpose was for you to do the best you could.  Records? He didn't care. 36.3 sec for 300m under 17 years.  No congratulations, not from him. How about  11.0 sec for a 100m sprint under 19 years? Nope. He never once mentioned it. For that matter, I cannot remember him congratulating me at any point; but make no mistake he was ever present at my side. He continued training me even after I graduated from St. Vincent's. Unbelievable commitment. Naturally, I was inspired by his unwavering passion. As also his conviction of "studies first, sports second".  National meets did not impress him since they involved extended absence from the classroom, that experience would have to wait till I left St. Vincent's.  But through it all, I felt he had my back. Like any good coach, he didn't hesitate to pull me up if he felt I wasn't giving it my 100%. I shall forever be indebted to him. And the best way to repay him is to strive to emulate him in all I do.

Recording breaking 4x100m finish (photo: João Botelho)

My interest in athletics can be traced back to a providential gesture by Fr. Oesch. On his own doing, he wrote a letter to Kukreja Sports asking them to give a deserving student a set of starting blocks and running spikes. That student was me - and this sparked my lifelong passion for running which endures to this day. What better way to repay him than put the gear to use! He was relentless in getting me to polish my technique. And when I was inattentive, he’d give a sharp tug on my side locks. There was no mistaking his frustration. Almost immediately I adopted a crew cut as a survival tactic. It was only because of his guidance that I went on to establish the 100m sprinting record of 11.4 sec under 17 years in standard XI. I also owe my long-distance records for 800m and 1500m to him. That year, I won the award of Best Sportsman's Award and was the St Vincent's Sports Team captain.

~ João G. Botelho (X batch of ’76 and XII batch of ’78)

I first got to interact with Fr. Oesch in 1976, as our teacher of Higher German in 9th standard. Later under his tutelage on the sports field, I learnt the proper technique of just 3 steps between each hurdle. He helped me achieve it at top speed, showing me just how so with his white cassock pulled up slightly and flapping in the breeze. He used the AV (audio visual) room, to show the athletes and me the practised ease of world-class athletes - a rare privilege back in the day. But, apart from the sports field, his influence has been tremendous throughout my adult life. I regularly visited him in the evenings, spending hours chatting with him. He also lent me a book to read. He would carefully write down the names of the borrowers, the date and the name of the book and cross them out when they returned them. I clearly remember the first book he lent me when I told him I wished to become a doctor, it was 'The Citadel' by AJ Cronin. The book remains one of my favourites 50 years later. Years later in 1987 when I was planning to go to the U.K. for further medical training, I had asked him to write me a letter of reference as a close confidante. He was happy to oblige but first I had to promise to come back to India! That had always been my plan but now it was a binding promise! I wrote regularly to him on the blue aerogrammes and he diligently replied. After I came back to India, I would regularly visit him at St Vincent's School in the early evenings before I went to my clinic and would invariably find him on the field with young athletes urging them on with his unflagging enthusiasm. He was the embodiment of a dedicated and selfless teacher and throughout my career as a doctor and teacher, I have tried to emulate him as much as possible. I owe him a lot! ~ Sanjeev Gupta (SSC class of '77, HSC class of '79)

PSAA Champions circa 1979 (photo: Prashant Nagar)

Being naturally gifted, I played every team and individual sport offered in high school. Thanks to Fr. Oesch’s superb coaching, I won every event or game I represented the school in - bar none. To summarize, the good Father helped me successfully captain the school football team to victory (never losing a game), win three Riklin cups (1977/78/79), win back-to-back inter-class Individual Championships in athletics along with the Best Sportsman of the Year trophies, and finally win the 1979 PSAA Individual Championship (first in all 5 events) while setting new records in High Jump, Javelin and 110-meter hurdles. The reason I emphasize the dominating nature of my success in high school sports is not just to honour Fr. Oesch’s legendary coaching skills had on my sporting career but to recognise how it shaped my business career where I was privileged to successfully start up several world-leading computer hardware businesses, eventually selling them to Fortune-500 multi-national corporations like Siemens in 2019. 

Fr. Oesch's work ethic all came home to me while watching Jackie Joyner-Kersee at an NCAA track meet to describe the three Ds that powered her success in winning three Olympic Heptathlon Gold medals - Desire, Dedication and Determination. Desire - do only what you truly love. Dedication - relentlessly pursuit of perfection in execution. Determination - do not give up until you are second to none at it. I realised then how Fr. Oesch had quietly steered me with the same 3Ds to play Football and Athletics that I truly loved, forcing me to practice every day to achieve high consistency in performance till I won everything.

Fr. Oesch encouraged me to practice after school every day saying “put your whole body and mind into heading the football into the goal on corner kicks, don’t just stand in one spot and flick your head, move around and get into a better position, bend your entire body and head the ball when it comes your way”. 

Fr. Oesch also made me switch to 3-steps between hurdles. I almost quit in frustration unable to master the 3-step shuffle but he kept saying “Failure is not an option” and that execution success would guarantee a win. I went on to smash the 110m hurdle PSAA record, along with my classmate, the sprint champ who also broke it but finished a step behind. For having such a meaningful impact on my entire life, I remain eternally grateful to Fr. Oesch. ~ Prashant Nagar (formerly Mustafa or Musti,  SSC class of '77, HSC class of '79)

r. Oesch was not only my higher German and English teacher but also my coach and mentor. He once told me – "Glenn – years ago I coached your father – Remy D’Souza who also was an outstanding athlete and sportsman, and I want to make sure that you will outperform your Dad so that he will always be proud of you." Such was the encouragement and enthusiasm that he would inject into me and my colleagues when we were practising on Vincent’s playground. There is one particular incident I recall – I was an excellent sprinter, but for some reason, could not get off the starting blocks with a flying start. Ask any good sprinter and he will tell you the importance of starting the sprint correctly. Fr. Oesch immediately recognized that I needed help in this area and he would keep plenty of plastic bags in his pocket, inflate them and burst them with a bang, to create the effect of a starter's rifle shot being fired as in the actual race. This would continue where he would work with me tirelessly, sometimes even practising 10 starts over and over again, to make sure I got it just right! Over a period of time, I mastered my starting technique and it was no surprise when I stood first in the Under 17 age group for the 100M dash at the Inter-school Athletics Competition.  It is truly difficult to find a person who will match the stature of Fr. Oesch, but I can honestly say, probably like hundreds of other students, that I was proud to be a chapter in the life of Fr. Oesch’s history book. ~ Glenn Remy Dsouza (SSC class of '77, HSC class of '79)

When in 11th class, during our athletic sports day event Fr. Oesch noticed me competing in the hurdles event, and of his own volition offered to train me starting the very next day.  When I met him the next day,  he first asked me all my personal details, importantly where I stay and how I used to come to school every day (45 minutes by bicycle from Satara Road). He was very concerned about the distance from my house. He was so humble in expressing his earnest desire in wanting to improve my skills in athletics (hurdles and sprints). He asked me to come one hour before school started, and to my greatest surprise, I was shocked to see Fr. Oesch on the ground much before me with hurdles arranged and white powder markings drawn with properly measured distances, everything meticulously and perfectly set before I reached. Referring to a big sports book in his hand and training me with perfection, taking into consideration all the technicalities, the finer details like the distance between the two hurdles, which leg to raise first, how to swing your hands, and glide the other leg over the hurdle. For the very first time, I learnt that one is not supposed to jump over a hurdle, but rather glide over it. This process of teaching went on daily for almost a month. Marvellous teaching, it changed my performance multifold so much so that at every event thereafter I excelled. 

Also, he attended my wedding. I am blessed to have many great teachers in life, but among all Fr. Oesch stands at the top of my list. A great human being, a dedicated teacher, and the greatest mentor I have ever come across in my life. I wish we all have many more people like him in our lives.

God bless the holy soul. 🙏 ~ Dr Ajay Shah (HSC class of '80, Orthopaedic surgeon).

Fr. Oesch was the epitome of discipline, energy and selfless service. He was my teacher for 4 years and it was simply amazing to see this dynamo in action. He set up special classes on Saturdays where we would enjoy some fun German movies to enhance our understanding of the language. He was totally committed to his students. When preparing us for our HSC State Examinations, he gave us carte blanche permission to call him in case of any emergency. He told us of a real story when a student was being driven to the exam and the car got into an accident. The cops would not let the student go. He called Fr. Oesch who rushed to the site on his scooter. Fr. Oesch immediately called the Chief of Police who happened to be a Vincentian (!), explained the situation and they let the student go for this exam. Which teacher would ever give that kind of commitment to the students?
One last thing was his humility. I found out that he played for the national football team of Switzerland ... of course, I had to ask him - he never once talked about it! I feel very fortunate to have had such a wonderful teacher and role model in my life. ~ Shirish Puranik (SSC '78, HSC '80)

Fr. Oesch (photo credit: Rahul Chandawarkar)

Peepal tree planted by Fr Oesch

The peepal tree near St Vincent's Father's House has a long history. The sapling was planted by none other than our beloved, Fr Alfons Oesch S.J. in the year 1938 when he joined the school as a young Jesuit.

I was privileged to shoot a photograph of him posing before this venerable tree in his sunset years.

He simply said, "I may have planted the sapling, but just see how tall and mighty the tree has become and how little and small I am ..."  ~ Rahul Chandawarkar

Rest in peace, dearest Fr. Oesch, your students might not remember everything you taught them or everything you said to them, but they'll always remember how special you made them feel.

References:

1. Misquitta S.J., Fr. Kenneth, contributor pp. 189-190. Deceased Members of the Western Region of the South Asian Assistancy of the Society of Jesus. editor Fr. Thomas Ambrose S.J., 2021.

2. Naik, Fr Gregory, editor. “Chapter 12: Loyola High School.” Jesuit Schools: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow - Evaluation Report, Poona 411001, India, Jesuit Education Bureau, 21 Apr. 1982, pp. 80–83.

3. St. Vincent’s High School, Poona. stvincentspune.com. Accessed 28 Nov. 2021.

4. VOBA - Vincentian Old Boys Association. www.vobapune.com. Accessed 28 Nov. 2021.