The Loyola University Maryland community is mourning the loss of Rev. Paul Locatelli, S.J., secretary for Jesuit higher education for the Society of Jesus, chancellor of Santa Clara University, and former president of Santa Clara. Fr. Locatelli, who passed away on July 12, was 71.
Fr. Locatelli served Santa Clara as president for two decades beginning in 2008 before being appointed secretary for Jesuit higher education, a post that took him to Rome from his native California. In this role, he was responsible for shaping Jesuit higher education worldwide. This spring, he traveled to the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City to lead a gathering of international Jesuit higher education officials in a conference designed to enhance Jesuit education for students and faculty; to strengthen Catholic, Jesuit identity and mission; to address key challenges in Jesuit higher education; to serve society and the Church better; to collaborate more effectively with other Jesuit ministries; and to strengthen the international Jesuit network.
“The dedication and innovation Fr. Locatelli brought to Jesuit higher education has had a significant influence on all of our institutions,” said Rev. Brian F. Linnane, S.J. “His leadership, as well as his profound commitment to ethics and social justice, will be sorely missed.”
Raised in Boulder Creek, Calif., in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Fr. Locatelli was the first in his family to attend college. He held an undergraduate degree in accounting from Santa Clara, a doctorate in business administration from the University of Southern California, and a master of divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley.
In September 2007, Fr. Locatelli visited Loyola to present a lecture, “The Mission of Justice in a Globalizing World.”
For more information on Fr. Locatelli’s life and achievements, please visit Santa Clara University’s website.
For more information or questions regarding this story, contact Media Relations Manager Nick Alexopulos at nalexopulos@loyola.edu or 410-617-5025.