Person DS/UK/1083 Rea; W. Francis (1908-1980); Jesuit Priest Rea W. Francis 1908-1980 Jesuit Priest Male Died 2 July 1980 Harare (Zimbabwe)

Fr William Francis Rea SJ was born on May 30th 1908. His family lineage detailed that his father’s ancestors could be traced back to Canada post Napoleonic wars with his mother coming from Liverpool. He was known affectionately as ‘Frank’ to his family and friends, but fondly referred to as ‘Willy’. After a long and fulfilling life Rea died on July 2, 1980, with his funeral mass being held two days later at Salisbury Cathedral. His education began at a young age wherein he attended kindergarten in Calgary Canada before being sent over to England to attend pre-school for a year prior to his schooling at St John Beaumont (an establishment in which he spent many years). He later attended Manresa college to begin his Jesuit formation education and spent time researching both the Juvenilia and Blandyke papers whilst at Heythrop, two influential Jesuit papers. Following this research, Rea was amongst the select few chosen to attend Campion Hall in Oxford, wherefrom he gained his first class honours. He had an aptitude to learning throughout his life, as he was recognised as fluent in French, German and Shona (for religious purposes), and even attended many universities in a teaching capacity, even in Rhodesia – modern day Zimbabwe. Rea’s education was bookmarked by his ordination as a priest 1941 which he later extended from 1947 into 1948 since he attended Namur (a South Belgium Province) for tertianship, completing this qualification shortly after. Prior to his ordination, he began to pursue his career as a teacher by becoming a history master at Stonyhurst College. He returned here in 1951 following his tertianship and would remain there for another 7 years. Fr Rea adopted many roles whilst there, including becoming president of the debating society, and becoming a keen promoter of the Catholic Evidence Guild. By this point (1958) he had already been teaching for 17 years, which he followed by spending some time in Zimbabwe (a country in which he spent a cumulative time of about 20 years throughout his life). As a priest he even taught history at St George's College from 1967-1978. His academic career was also marked with various publications, one of the most popular being a thesis he wrote titled ‘the Economics of the Zambezi Missions’ which garnered him a PH.D from London University in 1974. Other key publications of this included articles and reviews that can be found in ‘Fr Sutcliffe’s Bibliography’, as well as a co-authorship he did named ‘The Catholic Church and Zimbabwe’ written at the request of the Catholic Bishops and sponsored by the University of London He was known throughout his life as a compassionate and giving man, evident by his constant donation to the local communities which resulted in him living in relative poverty, a habit that he maintained until his death on July 2, 1980. Member of the English Province of the Society of Jesus International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition - ICA 2004 ISBN 2-9521932-2-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 Yes AvanGoethem 15/02/2019 user 12/06/2023 afc13645-9313-4bb5-a7aa-1dea7cda271e