Remembering Fr Gerard J Hughes SJ

An outstanding teacher, philosopher, Jesuit, and friend, Gerry was a much-loved figure to all who knew him, and in particular to the community at Campion Hall, where he presided as Master from 1998-2006 and continued as Fellow in Philosophy for many more years. As one of the Hall’s most distinguished members, Gerry will be remembered for his kindness, his patience and grace as a tutor, and his extraordinary mental acuity.

Born on 6 June 1934 in Surrey, Gerry was educated at St Aloysius College in Glasgow, and joined the Jesuit novitiate in Harlaxton in 1951, taking his First Vows there two years later. Between 1958-1962, he read for a MA in Literae Humaniores at Campion Hall, after which he taught Greek and Latin in Beaumont College. He was ordained in 1967, and in the same year became one of the first professors at Heythrop College, where he lectured in moral philosophy. From 1982-1988, he combined his work at Heythrop with the post of Vice-Provincial for Formation. His publications include The Nature of God (Routledge 1995), The Routledge Guidebook to Aristotle’s Ethics (2013), and Fidelity without Fundamentalism: A Dialogue with Tradition (2010). After his tenure as Master of Campion Hall ended in 2006, he stayed on as a Fellow in Philosophy until moving to Boscombe in 2018, where he remained until his death.

Gerry will be greatly missed and our condolences go to all who will be grieved at his death.

From Professor Gerard Kilroy:

Gerry was always there, at breakfast, calmly benevolent, ready with witty comments. Somehow one was always aware of the yellow roses in the garden behind him, visible through the window, from the beautiful standard rose which he had planted and lovingly tended, and which now seemed to light up the garden of Campion Hall even on dull days. One morning we started talking about the manuscripts, recently discovered in Prague Castle; these were the notes made by Campion's students on his lectures on Aristotle.  I told Gerry that the two books on which Campion had lectured in 1579-1580 were his Logic and Physics, he looked astonished and asked me to reassure him that I had got this right. 'Did he really teach his Logic?' he said in disbelief, and with a steep intake of breath. I asked why he was surprised. "It's so difficult," he said, and one could feel a wave of professional respect from one twentieth-century Aristotle scholar for another Jesuit teacher, whose students had embellished these notes out of affection for their beloved teacher, after he had been summoned to his mission in England. Campion never returned to pick up his festschrift, but he would certainly have been touched by his fellow scholar's admiration. Requiescat in pace, et in paradiso hortus rosis mollibus flavescat (may he rest in peace and in paradise may the garden grow yellow with tender roses). 
 

From Revd Dr Frank Turner, SJ:

Gerard J Hughes SJ, who died on 2 November 2021 and whose funeral took place in London on 22 November, was Master of Campion Hall from 1998 to 2006, and continued to live in the Hall till 2018. He had studied for a Licentiate in Philosophy at Heythrop College in Oxfordshire, and (between 1958 and 1962) took a Master’s in Classical Mods and Greats at Campion Hall before later doing his doctorate at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and teaching at Heythrop College in London for almost thirty years.

He and the spiritual writer Gerard W (both widely published) were frequently confused by those who knew neither, probably to the half-irritated amusement of both. Gerard W (In Search of a Way; God of Surprises, etc) was known to British Jesuits as ‘Gerry the Walk’; Gerard J (The Routledge Guidebook to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics; Fidelity without Fundamentalism, several other books) being ‘Gerry the Talk’ — even though GW was a fluent talker and GJ was no more sedentary than the average philosopher.

He was an elected delegate of the then ‘English Province’ at the 32nd General Congregation of the Society, a turning point in its modern history, and held many other posts in the Province.

If Aristotle lay at the centre of his philosophical thought, Christ lay at the heart of his life. He is remembered not only for a powerful analytic mind but also for his kindness and courtesy. Till the end of his Campion Hall years, though failing, he was eager to assist, for example, in proofreading the work of doctoral students writing in their second language.

Perhaps ‘Gerry the Talk’ was, above all, a teacher. His students relished his quasi-Socratic style: drawing out key themes by way of dialogues framed by vivid and witty anecdotes. At the funeral reception, I heard from a member of the care team at Boscombe that, even in his last poignant dementia, he occasionally addressed her and her colleagues as his students!

May he rest in peace.
 

From Revd Professor John Barton:

I had known Gerry Hughes for a long time before I joined Campion Hall in 2014, mainly through visits to guest night dinners. He was always a welcoming presence, and I found this still more when I became a member of the Hall. He went out of his way to make me feel welcome, and I remember presenting on biblical ethics at a Work in Progress evening when he made very helpful comments and suggestions that greatly improved the finished product.

I believe Gerry remained in demand as a tutor until shortly before he left the Hall. He told me that there were two ways of writing a thesis or essay—only two! Sadly I can no longer remember them, though they seemed very compelling at the time. Both certainly owed much to scholastic method. He was able to make difficult philosophical arguments and ideas accessible to the non-philosopher, and I always greatly enjoyed conversations with him on theological themes. Of his life as a Jesuit I of course knew little, but he certainly typified Campion Hall’s ethos of welcome and kindness towards visitors from other traditions. I am so glad to have become a member of the Hall while he was still here.
 

From Revd Wilin Buitrago Arias, SJ:

I feel thankful and lucky to have been blessed with Gerry’s friendship and care. In spite of belonging to very different generations, I found in him not only quite a remarkable, avant-garde and intelligent human being but also a golden hearted one. He took upon himself the task of helping me navigate the unknown waters of my journey through my first year as an MPhil student at the department of Politics and International Relations at Oxford. At the time, I was not only facing a silly ghost whispering to my ears how undeserving of the place I was, but also the inner relentlessness to deliver in accordance with what the discipline seemed to demand. In an unusual learning relationship we use to read each other’s work. I must confess that such an idea was indeed a pretty bad deal for him because I was the one who certainly benefited the most. However, I know Gerry was well aware of the situation and kept going above and beyond. Once I told him I was nervous about my exams at Oxford and he decided to sit with me for hours and perform with me some mock exams. Amazingly, he not only pushed me to my limit but he took the mock exams as well and did it so seriously that he wanted me to actually mark him following the conventions of the University. I did, and he was both surprised and happy to receive his results with comments on his theory building writing process in Political Science. Later that day we both kept laughing because I gave him a lower mark from the one he gave to me.

Gerry had many jokes and one of them, often used when he wanted to tease someone, was to borrow some words from the person he was talking to and add them to the famous phrase “I didn’t get where I am today by …” from the 70s British sitcom ‘The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin’. I used to tell him he was a nice guy and several times he told me “A nice Guy? Really? Ohhh believe me, I didn’t get where I am today by being a nice guy”.

There you have him, my friend Gerry!
 

From Revd Jijimon Joseph, SJ:

I have known Father Gerry Hughes, SJ, since September 2017. He was my first college supervisor at Campion Hall while I was reading for my post-graduate studies. When I first arrived, I heard many great things about Father Gerry; he was a friendly Jesuit, an excellent philosopher, a man who possessed a good sense of humour etc. After I met him, I quickly realised how true and fitting all those statements were. From my experience, I would like to summarise him and his life in two phrases: A man of Ignatian generosity, and a great and compassionate teacher.

Father Gerry certainly was a man of Ignatian generosity. When I began my studies at this University, I firstly had to find a college supervisor. It was primarily a student’s task to find his/her college supervisor in those days. At that time, Father Gerry had already advanced in his age, and was dealing with ill health too. However, when I approached him, he generously accepted to be my college supervisor. Later, I learned that he had the freedom to say NO to my request, as he was not obliged to take any such responsibilities because of his age.

Father Gerry was also a great and compassionate teacher. When I began my studies at the Hall, I first had to familiarise myself with Oxford University essay writing. Based on my studies prior to then, especially in India and Italy, I imagined that an essay was basically an article that contained a synthesis of arguments by various authors on a particular theme, followed by some personal reflections by the writer himself. Thus, following these preconceptions, my essays certainly lacked elements of critical analysis of the arguments concerned. Additionally, many grammatical and linguistic elements also needed correction in my essays. However, Father Gerry was always kind to me; he helped me tremendously to progress in academic writing and patiently guided me, even amidst his busy schedule with other tutorial assignments.

May he rest in peace.

If you would like to leave your own tribute to Gerry, we warmly invite you to do so in the comment section below.