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FR HEDWIG LEWIS SJ
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For
Biographical articles Click here
Jubilee Video : 50 years in the Society of Jesus in Gujarat - 2014
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Hedwig Lewis (SJ) is a Jesuit priest, educationist and writer. After twenty
years in the education field, as professor and principal, he became a prolific
writer and best-selling author. His writings encompass several genre of
literature: professional, educational, historical, spiritual, biographical and
inspirational. His thirty-plus books and hundreds of articles have been
published in India and abroad. They have been translated into several Indian and
European languages.
Early life
Fr Lewis was
born on 10 October 1945 in Parel, Mumbai, India. His parents hailed from
Calangute, Goa. He did his schooling in Mumbai. He joined the Society of Jesus (SJ)
on 20 June 1964, for the Gujarat Province. He was ordained a priest on 16 April
1977, and appointed to teach at St Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad, affiliated to
the Gujarat University. He served as professor, vice-principal and principal, resigned from
College for reasons of health in 1995, and took up full-time writing.
Professional background
Fr Lewis graduated with a Master of Arts degree in English
Literature from the M.S. University, Baroda, in 1973, and a Master of Human Resource
Development (HRD) degree from American International College (USA), in 1987. In
keeping with his religious training, he earned the Bachelor of Philosophy (B.
Ph) and Bachelor of Theology (B.Th) degrees in 1980 and 1977 respectively.
As a priest, he has been involved in various spiritual ministries, especially
giving courses and Retreats based on the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius
of Loyola, and in spiritual direction/counselling. He has also taught courses on
The Art of Prayer at Our Lady of the Elms College (1986-1987) as a visiting
professor. Some of his books are psycho-spiritually oriented. He contributes
articles regularly to religious periodicals and magazines. He has served
as parochial vicar in three parishes in the US.
Educational career
Fr Lewis is best remembered for his training programs for
students to organize intra-mural and extracurricular and cultural activities and
develop their soft skills. He started Culfest, a cultural festival to showcase
talent through educative and entertaining programs on stage in 1979. It became an annual
festival in the college, and spread to other educational institutions in the
city. He conducted regular workshops in public speaking, study methods,
personality development, as well as Personal Growth labs. He organized the PROBE
(Personal Resources and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness) workshops for
undergrads. Of particular mention is the CORE (Career Orientation, Recruitment
and Employment) Training Program for final year students, geared toward
job-placements after graduation, with campus interviews by corporations. He was
available for students in his Counselling Office during and after college hours.
Administrative responsibilities
Fr Lewis has held several administrative positions:
Principal, St Xavier's College, Ahmedabad, (1991-1995); Rector of St Xavier’s
College (1988-1991); Director of Xavier Centre for Human Resource Development
(1987-1996); Director of Xavier Institute of Languages (1977-1987);
Vice-Principal, St Xavier’s College (1984-1991); Student Counsellor (1977-1985);
Co-ordinator Student Activities (1977-1985).
Writing Career
Fr Lewis suffered a disabling and chronic neurological
disorder – Meige's syndrome in October 1995. He resigned from College and
devoted himself to writing. He has published 42 books in wide-ranging fields.
Several of his books have been translated[6] into Spanish, Lithuanian[8], and
several Indian languages, and has contributed hundreds of articles to
periodicals in India and abroad. He has also edited books and magazines and
maintains regular columns in magazines. Several of his books are bestsellers,
and among his most outstanding works are Body Language, A Guide for
Professionals, which is widely used in management institutes in India,
and At Home With God. The latter book, in its Spanish translation entitled En
Casa Con Dios has seen208 ‘ediciones’ and is very popular in Spanish
speaking countries.
Works
Fr Lewis’ authored works are on wide-ranging subjects and
in several categories:
Inspirational, Human Resource Development, Skill-based, Prayer methods,
Spiritual Resource Development, Biographical, Festive, Historical.
Fr Lewis’ articles and columns are on Jesuit, religious, and psych-spiritual
themes, for various publications, in the print media and on the internet.
Awards and recognition
Rev T. A. Mathias Award for Innovative College Teachers: All India Association
for Christian Higher Education (AIACHE), New Delhi, in April 1993. The citation
reads as follows: "This prestigious national award is a mark of AIACHE’S
recognition of his devotion to academic excellence, introduction of educational
innovations, concern for the integrated development of students and commitment
to high standards of professional ethics."
He won the first prize in the “JIVAN Creative Writing Contest[16] – 2005”, for
his Short Story, Taste and See.
BOOKS
45 books on wide-ranging subjects and
categories: 1983-2022. (Includes 4 edited
works)
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Spiritual
Resource Development – Retreat guides, Prayer manuals. |
| Human Resource Development
–
Personality growth, Social outreach
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Skill-based
– Body Language, Study methods, Vocabulary building. |
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Careers – Tips and techniques for job-seekers. |
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Biography – Challenged persons, missionaries, Jesuit Saints.
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Inspiration – collections of stories, poems, quotes. |
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History – The Church in Gujarat,
Gujarat Jesuit communities. |
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Feasts – Christmas, Valentine's Day. |
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E-book – Ramblings Over Rumblings, Persons Are Our Best Gifts. |
*
Several books have been translated into Spanish, Lithuanian, and some Indian languages [Gujarati,
Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu. See website for details]
Note: En Casa Con Dios [Spanish, At Home With God. is in its 20th
edition.
*
Sections of the book With Jubilant
Hearts, appeared monthly during the Jesuit Triple-Jubilee Year, 2006, on
"Pray As You Go", a Jesuit website in
Ireland,
which has millions of viewers.
* Profiles in Holiness
– Brief Biographies of Jesuit Saints,
has been placed as a reference book for the Society of Jesus worldwide,
on the web page of the Jesuit
headquarters in Rome [www.sjweb.info].
* Body Language, A Guide For
Professionals was
published by SAGE International, Delhi. The book is included in the syllabus
of some Management institutes across the country. In October 2007, SAGE
Publications India decided to make their choice popular books available to a
larger readership. They entered into co-publication partnerships with reputed
publishers in a number of Indian languages “to publish and disseminate quality
translations…” SAGE began negotiations with publishers in Marathi, Tamil,
Bengali, Hindu and Malayalam, as a start. “Body Language: A Guide for
Professionals” was included in this venture. The Malayalam translation of the book was published in September 2008.
Third Edition: August 2012
* How To Study
is being used as a text-book in
some seminaries in India.
-
At Home With God (1991, 2013), God Here and Now
(2002): Spiritual Exercises in Daily Life.
ARTICLES
Written and published of general
interest to magazines, e-zines (internet), in India and abroad, and the National dailies
from time to time.
In 1985, contributed a third of the
articles on different aspects of the English Language to a special supplement in
The Times of India, entitled Times Ma English. The articles
were later serialised a number of times over the years in TOI as well as
reproduced in its allied magazines.
Columns
Ignatian Ripples,
in
Gujarat Jesuit Samachar, August 2011
to December 2013.
Mosaic Stories:
JIVAN, Magazine of Jesuits in India,
May-June 2006 to January 2014.
Kaleidoscope:
Psycho-spiritual refractions, The New Leader, January 2015--
Serials
Roots,
JIVAN, Magazine of Jesuits in India, January 2012
to December 2014.
Beloved Don Pedro
(Arrupe), 4-page supplement in the Gujarat Jesuit Samachar, March
to November
2007.
EDITOR
Gujarat Jesuit Parivar - Navajuni
(2003-2011)
Gujarat Jesuits’ monthly newsletter (“Samachar”)
(1999-2009)
St Xavier’s College Magazines
(1977-1983)
St Xavier’s College Prospectus
(1988-1993)
Anjali
[Philosophy Yearbook] (1969)
AVE
[Monthly, meditations for
each day] (1975-1976)
Children's Page
[Poona Diocese Vocation
Magazine] (1968-1970)
Apostles of Gujarat
[Gujarat Province Vocation
Magazine] (1968-1970)
Residential Address:
Loyola Hall,
St Xavier's High School, Naranpura, Ahmedabad 380 013
email: <hedwiglewis@jesuits.net>
<hedwiglewis@gmail.com>
Website:
https://joygift.tripod.com/
Cell: (079) 90 99 80 92 49
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