Horacio de la Costa

The Reverend Horacio de la Costa S.J.
Horacio de la Costa portrait, Loyola School of Theology, LHS, Loyola Schools.
Personal details
Birth name	Horacio V. de la Costa
Born	(1916-05-09)May 9, 1916 Mauban, Tayabas, Philippine Islands
Died	March 20, 1977(1977-03-20) (aged 60) Quezon City, Philippines
Occupation	Writer and historian

Horacio de la Costa (May 9, 1916 – March 20, 1977) was the first Filipino Provincial Superior of the Society of Jesus in the Philippines, and a recognized authority in Philippine and Asian culture and history.

A brilliant writer, scholar, and historian, Horacio de la Costa was born in Maúban, Quezon on May 9, 1916 to Judge Sixto de la Costa and Emiliana Villamayor. Ordained a Jesuit priest at the age of 30, he became, at age 55, the first Filipino provincial superior of this religious order, the Society of Jesus.

De la Costa first attended the public elementary school in Batangas before moving on to the Ateneo de Manila, where he distinguished himself for academic excellence and student leadership, particularly as a writer and, later, as editor of the Guidon, the campus newspaper. After earning there his Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, in 1935, he entered the Society of Jesus at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches, where he later completed his Master's degree. Afterward, he went back to the Ateneo to teach philosophy and history for two years. During this time, he also worked as a writer and radio talent for the Chesteron Evidence Guild, more specifically, the "Common Weal Hour", for which he created the character of Teban, the calesa driver, at the height of the controversy over the 1940 divorce bill. The program evolved into "Kuwentong Kutsero", consisting of satirical tales dealing mostly with life in Manila.

During the war, the Japanese imprisoned him for two months in Fort Santiago for his role in the resistance movement. He helped Rev. Fr. John F. Hurley, the Jesuits' superior, in taking clothes and medicines to American and Filipino soldiers who had evaded capture by the Japanese or escaped from Japanese prison camps. For this, he was awarded the Medal of Freedom by the United States government in 1946. Early in 1946, he left for the United States to pursue further studies in theology at , Maryland, where he was ordained a priest on March 24, 1946 by American Bishop John F. McNamara. He received his doctorate degree in history at Harvard University in 1951.