Fr. Javier Arrazola, O.P., who served as the seventh rector of the UST Central Seminary, died on Thursday, April 17, at 3 p.m. He was 90.
His death was announced by the UST Central Seminary in a Facebook post.
Arrazola served as seminary rector from 1979 to 1985.
“A devoted Dominican and steadfast formator. Being the seminary rector for 6 years, he helped shape generations of future priests, grounding them in the values of truth, compassion, and fidelity to the Church,” the post read.
Before becoming rector, Arrazola was vice rector from 1970 to 1972. He also held a concurrent role as prefect of the UST Miguel de Benavides Library and prior of the Priory of St. Thomas Aquinas until 1978.
In 1990, he became superior of the Nuestra Señora del Rosario House in Binondo, and in 1994, he was appointed the fifth parish priest of the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary – Binondo Chinese Parish.
Arrazola later joined the Dominican mission in South Korea in 1995. He served as superior of the St. Dominic House in Seoul from 2000 to 2003, and again from 2007 to 2010. He was also vicar provincial of the mission in Korea from 2010 to 2012.
He served the remainder of his pastoral ministry in the country until his passing in Ávila, Spain, while on vacation.
Vicar Provincial in Taiwan Fr. Jarvis Sy, O.P., remembered the late friar as someone who speaks with “gentleness and goodness.”
“He was stern in correcting faults, yet it was always with gentleness when he spoke to us. [It] was a sincerity that won our friendship, trust, and veneration,” he told the Varsitarian.
Born in Legazpi (Guipúzcoa) in northern Spain, Arrazola has Basque roots.
He entered the Order of Preachers in Ocaña in 1953. He earned his theology degree from the Albertinum in Nijmegen, Holland, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1960.
He was laid to rest on Good Friday, April 18.
