Gil Mata

Gil Mata

Gil was from Stockton and originally entered the class ahead of us in his Poet year after spending some time at another college (Berkeley?).  He was sent to Rome, but decided to return after a year or so, and entered our class.  He was brilliant, and such a good researcher and writer that Paul Purta often asked him to ghostwrite his talks for him.  In Everyseminarian, the morality play we performed for Archbishop McGucken, Gil played the part of the rector and did a perfect imitation of Purta’s balancing act:  “On the one hand we see . . . “(outrageous left wing position).   “And on the other hand we see . . . “ (reactionary right wing position).   “But I think we can achieve a balance between these positions” (Purta’s position).

After he left, Gil married Sherri and went to work for the Bank of America in San Francisco. He was promoted quickly into management and also did very well investing in the stock market.  In the early ‘70s, a few of us were playing around with the idea of writing a book on the seminary called The Cock Crows.  Here’s one of Gil’s entries:

 . . . our kindly biology professor, Dr. Sardonicus Braithewaite. 

 It should be noted from the onset that his nickname “The Heretic” was given to him because of his unorthodox dedication to pedagogy and NOT because he was an Anglican.  Nay, this dedicated scholar seldom even noticed the myriad taunts we thrust at him.  When he came into the classroom he simply erased the graffiti (“Cardinal Newman saw the light,” “Remember the Oxford Movement!”) on the blackboard and promptly knelt down on the little cushion someone had provided to lessen his discomfort in this empire of Romans.  He would kneel there in stately silence until the bell signaled the official opening of the class period.  After the prayer he would whisper “Amen” and make the sign of the cross about a foot in front of his face, perhaps not to contaminate his person with the erroneous ways of the Romans, perhaps because his glasses were so thick he thought all was going as intended.

Witty fellow.  May he rest in peace.