Fr. Schoch needs no introduction. As every Loyolite knows, as do the scores of other people who were fortunate to be acquainted with him, he was the motivating spirit behind the foundation of Loyola High School Pune, one of the finest schools in India. In 1986, to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of Loyola, he gave an interview. Then 73 years of age, this venerable priest was still bubbling with effusive enthusiasm; his eyes sparkling with animation while reminiscing long-ago events. His merry, infectious laughter convinced us about the perennial youthfulness and the exuberant spirit of the man. A man of strong principle and belief, who did so much to make Loyola the fine school it is, today. Fr. Schoch is now no more, but he continues to live in the hearts of all Loyolites.
Here are excerpts from the interview.
Q. Could you tell us the date and place of your birth?
A I was born on the 20th of September, 1913 in Basel, Switzerland, on the river Rhine. I was born when my mother was very, very busy and least expected me (laughs)
Q. Could you please tell us something about your parents and family?
A. My father died in an accident in 1914. My mother Emma who was the eldest among 19 kids (whistles) took over his business – we had a small cosmetic business. We were not very well to do, but I never remained hungry. My mother was a very wise, strong woman. She beat me only once, when at the age of eight, I attended a Communist Meeting. She died in 1950, when I was 37.
Q. Did you have any brothers and sisters?
A. I had an elder brother. He became a soldier during the Second World War. He succumbed to pneumonia in 1942.
Q. Please tell us something about your schooling.
A. I went to school in Switzerland at the age of six. Soon Asian flu broke out – it’s called Spanish flu here – we always want to put the burden on some other nation (laughs). I suffered from it, and my left side was paralyzed for sometime. Later I got tuberculosis and missed a year's schooling. I then went to a high school run by the Benedict monks, who were very strict.
Q. Did any single person influence you greatly, when you were at school?
A All my teachers were good, but one of them, Fr. Peter influenced me more than anyone else. If I became a good Principal, it is mostly due to him. I saw the necessity of fairness and justice because he was very unjust to me. We learn as much from our bad teachers as from the good.
Q. Tell us something about your college life.
A. Actually, when I lost a year at school I joined a private, expensive school and made up a year there. When I applied for Matura (college), I was rejected on the grounds that I was underage. That gave me a lifelong hatred for senseless regulations. Later in college, I studied Geography, Physics and German Literature.
Q. Did you have many friends?
A. I had plenty of friends, in school and in college. I still write regularly to some of them.
Q. What games did you play at school and college?
A. I used to play football. I was a full back as I had a terrific kick. The sport I enjoyed most was ice skating.
Q. Were you socially very active?
A. Yes I was quite active. I was a good singer, and liked to play the piano, though I was never good at it.
Q. When did you become a Priest and what made you do so?
A. I became a Jesuit on the 15th September, 1932. I was not yet nineteen. Fr. Oesch joined on the same day as I did, but he was two years senior to me. It is difficult to say exactly why I became a Priest. I was partly influenced by Fr. Saurer. I had read books about Jesuits, and was quite interested. At that time Jesuits weren’t allowed in Switzerland. The Protestants thought them to be too active, but the Jesuits had a good name, as good, intellectual people.
Q. Did you receive any opposition from your mother?
A. No, not at all. She had a great respect for her children.
Q. Did you ever think of marriage?
A. No, of course not! Never!
Q. Did you ever like a girl?
A. Yes, I liked a girl called Klara very much She was a great artist, very talented, but simple. She never objected to my becoming a priest. She felt that it was the will of God. She had trained to become a teacher in embroidery, but died in 1938.
Q. Who ordained you Priest?
A. Bishop Doering of Poona ordained me priest. At that time I had come to Poona for good, and thought that I would never see Switzerland again.
Q. Why did you choose India?
A. There was no specific reason. I would have been interested in Chinese philosophy too, but no one else had specialized in Indian Philosophy. I had studied Shankaracharya. I had read several good books including books on 'Advaita'. Later, I got interested in Tukaram, and translated 39 of his poems from French to German.
Q What were your first reactions towards India?
A. Naturally I fell in love with India. In addition to Poona, I also spent many years in Sangamner. I had to learn Marathi. I am grateful to India for having given me a chance to do a good job. A job I would not have been able to do anywhere else. God has been kind to me. During the Second World War, the German Priests were sent to concentration camps, and we Swiss had to take their places.
Q. How did you like Indian food & music?
A. In those days we didn’t have much Indian food. We had 'bhakar' which I liked and 'kalvan' which was too pungent for me. Now I like all kinds of Indian food. The only thing I didn’t quite like in India was the classical music, I never understood it.
Q. Did you have any bad experiences in India or with Indians?
A. Yes occasionally, but I am still grateful to Indians for giving me a chance to do a good job. For example, once I had an argument with the Defence Minister, Mr. Katju. Jawaharlal Nehru defended me in the Parliament. He later invited me for dinner. I explained the whole case to him there. He requested me to explain the case to his daughter Indira. I wasn’t happy to be shifted to “a mere girl”. How mistaken I was! (Laughs very heartily)
Q. Please tell us something about how and when Loyola was founded.
A. After Independence we had felt the need to establish a new school in Poona as St. Vincent's was the only large English Medium School of the Society of Jesus there. I originally thought of Deccan Gymkhana as a site, but the land was too expensive. Then, once I had been invited to a tea party at the Governor's place, I met Dr. Venkatraman, then the Director of N.C.L., who suggested that I consider some land near N.C.L. as a site for the school. After many difficulties, I finally selected the site. The architect in charge was an old student of mine. Some people were very generous with loans and donations especially Mr. Homi Irani and Mr. Kanga. What I really appreciated were the small donations like Rs. 10/-, Rs. 50/-, which were really precious ones. I received foreign aid too from the Swiss and German Governments. In 1952, I had helped the Germans to start courses in Poona University and in founding the Max Mueller Bhavan. They kindly reciprocated by helping Loyola.
Q. Which was your most glorious moment at Loyola?
A. I really loved all my moments at Loyola. I was always in a state of euphoria at Loyola.
Q. Do you ever miss family life?
A. No, why should I? There are hundreds of people who call me 'Father'. Just the other day a little boy came and told me, “My father called you “Father”, so I am going to call you “grandfather…!”
Q. What do you think about the Indian education system?
A. I would talk for a whole day about it. But I would like to say something. “THE CRIME” that the government commits is they give a very low salary to teachers. In advanced countries, teachers enjoy an honored place in society and earn a good salary. Not in India. In the land of the 'guru', teachers are neglected. A nation that believes in its future should believe in education.
Q. What have you learnt most from life?
A. There are thousands of lessons that I have learnt from life. One of them is – Do your utmost, love God and people, giving yourselves to them. Then you really enjoy life and have many friends.
Q. Do you feel that you achieved everything you wanted? Do you regret any things?
A. Yes, I do regret many things, but in all “humility”, I won’t tell you (laughs) I have achieved everything that I wanted to do. Whatever job I had, I thoroughly enjoyed doing it. I feel I have been successful.
Q. What do you think of Loyola now?
A. (At this point our recorder switched off… He laughed and said that it was a very clever machine, as that was a difficult question to answer.) Have it patented!
Q. How do you see Loyola 25 years from now?
A. I have a lot of work to do at my age and so have no time to think about the future. I treat each day as a completely new day and I think everyone has enough troubles for each day, to think about the future.
