Reuter, James B.

Jesuit Father James B. Reuter died on Dec. 31, 2012, in Our Lady of Peace Hospital, Manila, Philippines. Fr. Reuter, 96, entered the Society on Sept. 7, 1934, and was ordained a priest on March 24, 1946. He was an academic, communicator, singer, athlete, artist and political activist.

He was born in New Jersey on May 21, 1916. At 7 years old, he made a decision to be a missionary. He entered the Society at age 18, and was sent as a Jesuit scholastic to study philosophy in the Philippines four years later.

After arriving in the Philippines in 1938, he immediately fell in love with the Philippines and the Filipinos, which he credited for teaching him the true meaning of faith. “When I first came here, I thought I was bringing God to the Philippines. But what I discovered was [the Filipinos] brought God to me,” Fr. Reuter said.

He taught at Ateneo de Manila University and pioneered Jesuit broadcast communication in the country through the Family Rosary Crusade. He was head of the Church’s National Office of Mass Media. He coordinated the conduct of all Catholic radio stations, including TV programs. His most lasting contribution to Philippine history was the setting up of “Radyo Bandido,” the underground radio station that bolstered spirits and kept the country and world informed about the 1986 People Power Revolution.

Fr. Reuter received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts in 1989. In 2009, the Catholic Church gave Fr. Reuter the Serviam Award for his hard work and passion as a priest and as head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ media commission. The Philippine Congress made him an honorary Filipino in 1996. In 2011, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III awarded Fr. Reuter the Philippine Legion of Honor with the rank of Chief Commander, the highest honor that the President of the Philippines may grant an individual without the concurrence of Congress.

He is survived by two sisters; two other siblings are deceased.