RIP
Fr. SANTOS GONZÁLEZ MENA S.J.

died early in the morning of Monday, 14 July in Los Montalvos Hospital, Salamanca., Spain. Fr. Mena was 79 years of age. He entered the Society on 30 July 1947 and was ordained a priest on 18 March 1962.
Requiescat in Pace.
Born in Cevico Navero, a village of 250 people today, in the province of Palencia (Spain), on July 23, 1929, Fr. Mena entered the Novitiate in Salamanca the 30^th of July 1947. Soon after entering the Society, he was assigned to the China Missions; however —owing to the political situation—his ministry was always exercised in the Philippines. He studied theology in Manila, in the famous Chabanel Hall, and was ordained the 18^th of March 1962. In 1974-75 he took the course in the EAPI and then became the Administrator from 1975 to 1981, when the Directors were FF. Nebreda and Nicolás. He built the meeting rooms and the place of food service in the dining room. He walled the creek, protecting the EAPI from flooding and assured the water supply in the main building and hostels with special tanks. Afterwards he worked in Xavier School, as administrator and student counselor; he built the innovative Grade school building and a couple of other impressive buildings for high school activities. Very dedicated to education, he organized the “Days with the Lord” for the boys, which was then extended to the girls in the nearby school, and wrote imaginative books for youngsters, like The Gospel According to the Extras; The J Team; Jesus of Nazareth. His Diary; Generation J. 25 Gospel Meditations on Life and Vocation, and most recently, Luceat Lux:  A History of Xavier School. He organized the archives of the school and wrote the history of the house. With the contributions of Xavier School alumni, he funded a program of schooling and social insertion for the Aetas of the Pinatubo, in Pampanga.

He underwent surgery for cancer in Pamplona, Spain, in 2004, and was able to come back to the Philippines. Last autumn he returned to Spain where he received good medical care covered by social security.
Always lively and full of optimism, Mena became known to many in Spain through a television program last February (2008) when he was interviewed about the election of his good friend, Fr. Adolfo Nicolás, as General of the Society.
The funeral Mass was celebrated July 15 at 11 am local time in the Jesuit community of Salamanca. Interment followed in the city cemetery.