Although he always signed himself “EJ Anzorena,” Fr Anzorena was known by his middle name “Jorge” (“George” among English-speaking friends).
Having attended a German-sponsored technical high school, Jorge was a specialist in reinforced concrete and, before entering the Society of Jesus, was even supervising a construction site—already an indication of his future dedication to proper housing. Jorge entered the Society in Córdoba, Argentina, on 11 March 1950. After first vows he remained in Córdoba for humanistic studies and went to San Miguel in Buenos Aires to study philosophy. After some study in architecture, he arrived in Japan on 1 March 1960, at the age of 30.
After completing the usual Japanese language course, he studied architecture at Tokyo University for two years (1962–64). His study of theology was in Kamishakujii, Tokyo (1964–68), but he returned briefly to Buenos Aires for ordination on 11 March 1967. While studying theology, he continued to pursue his studies for a degree in architecture during the weekly break days. He got his Master’s degree from Tokyo University in 1969 and a PhD in Architecture Engineering in 1973 with a dissertation on The Interrelation of Space and University Students’ Growth. During these years, he also had some part in the planning team for the newly emerging Tsukuba Science City.
On his way to Germany for Tertianship (1973), he spent a month in Kolkata with Mother Teresa’s Missionary Brothers of Charity. This visit, during which he had first-hand experience of Asia’s urban poor, had a life-orienting influence on his resolve to do all he could to work for the poor.
In 1975, he met with some groups working to improve housing in the slums of Latin America and entered upon his own study of the housing crisis in Asia. His life then took a major turn in 1977, when, having become known to the Asian Bishop’s Conference (FABC), he was invited to live with the Bureau of Asian Affairs (BAA, later known as the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific) in Manila and participate in their Low-Cost Housing Program for two years, a period which was eventually extended for a third year, and again for a fourth (1977–81).
The effectiveness of his work is reflected in what BAA President Fr Bernard Chu SJ wrote in 1978:
His influence is not limited to the social and economic improvement of the people but has also extended to foster ecumenical dialogue, particularly with the Muslims and non-believers. … Jorge seems to be the only person who knows which people to contact and how to organise these meetings as a way to self-help of the people in Asian countries.
The effort Fr Jorge put into this work is summed up in this report from Fr William J Keyes of the BAA in 1981:
Living out of a suitcase, he has accommodated a continuing variety of climates, foods, and accommodations to a degree that most would find impossible. … Personality qualities of cheerfulness, ability to listen, a diversity of lingual talents coupled with extraordinary patience with a wide variety of accents… have made his accomplishments possible.
After returning to Japan, he was designated in the province catalogues as “working for human development”. In 1988, he and his co-workers founded the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR) network. He was also a very active member of the SELAVIP Foundation (Service et Liaison avec Villes Intermediaires Pauvres), an NPO which funded housing projects to shelter very poor families living in the cities of developing countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. He wrote informative reports in their semi-annual newsletter and was made President of SELAVIP from 1997 to 2004.
Among the various awards he received, the most salient was the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding (1994), which includes the following encomium:
His network continually grows. His role within it, he says, is to merely “support and encourage”. But others think of him as a catalyst and mentor: “He asks questions and makes us think. When he leaves, we always have something to do.”
Other awards also merit mentioning:
- The first World Habitat Award given in the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless (1988);
- Francisco García Vazquez Award for Arquitecto Solidario (1996);
- Japan Housing Association’s International Year of Shelter for the Homeless Award (1998); and
- Kazuhiro Kojima Special Award for his effort to bring about a positive change for society through the creation of an architectural space (2021).
Another aspect of his long life can be seen from Fr General Kolvenbach’s jubilee letter of 2000, congratulating him on his 50 years as a Jesuit:
I cannot forget another aspect of your apostolate, namely your spiritual direction. Even after years, former retreatants still remember how you would sketch during interviews. Your understanding of their experiences in prayer was imaginatively symbolized in those sketches that you would give to them at the end of the retreat. Many of them … often return to those experiences simply by going over the famous Anzorena’s sketches.
Health issues finally necessitated his move to the province infirmary, Loyola House, where he could get 24-hour care. It was from there that on 22 February, just three days short of his 95th birthday and only a few weeks short of his 75th year in the Society, he was called to live in the heavenly house of the Lord to join those for whom he himself had provided earthly housing.
“My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.” (Isaiah 32:18)
By Robert Chiesa SJ
Click here to read Fr Jorge Anzorena’s biography courtesy of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation.