Our Founder

Fr. Pierre Tritz, SJ, a French-born Jesuit priest was born on September 19, 1914 in Bouzonville, in the Lorraine region of eastern France. He entered the Society of Jesus in October 1933 at the age of 19. Upon his request, he was sent to China in 1936 where he continued his studies and worked as a missionary until 1948.

That same year, he returned to France for his tertianship. It was also around this time when the Communists took over China, thus forcing Fr. Tritz to spend time teaching at a Jesuit school in Reims, France.

In 1950, he received a telegram from his superior asking him to come to the Philippines. With his unwavering trust to the Divine Providence, he flew to Manila for what he thought was to be a  “temporary assignment” before returning back to his original post in China.

Upon arriving in Manila in October 1950, he was asked to take care of Chabanel Hall, a Jesuit center that took in refugees from China. Soon after, he was assigned to the Araneta Institute of Agriculture as a professor, as well as a guidance counselor, and chaplain.

Fr. Tritz taught in other universities in Metro Manila—Far Eastern University, University of the East, and Centro Escolar University respectively. He also taught at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University, where he obtained a Masters Degree in Psychology.

In 1965, Fr. Tritz came across an article written by Mr Tomas Garcia published in a local professional journal about the acute dropout problem in public schools. Though greatly bothered by what he read and its implications, he could not do anything about it. He was fully occupied with his teaching assignments. 

Finally, in 1974, Fr. Tritz and his first volunteers went to the Juan Luna Elementary School in Sampaloc, Manila to obtain a list of students who dropped out during the school year. He convinced their parents to send them back to school by assuring them of support in their educational expenses - Operation: Back-to-School. He was able to bring back six students to the classroom. This initiative soon became the Educational Assistance Program (EAP), the flagship program of ERDA Foundation.

It was also in 1974 when Fr. Tritz, along with 11 other foreign Jesuit priests, decided to renounce his French citizenship and apply to become a naturalized Filipino. He felt that he would be able to carry out his mission in the Philippines more effectively by becoming a Filipino citizen himself.

History witnessed the birthing of other institutions that acted as the vehicle for Fr. Tritz’s humanitarian work of helping the poor Filipino children to have access to a decent human life: the Foundation for Assistance to Hansenites, Inc. (1978); ERDA Tech Foundation, Inc. (1993); and the Albert Schweitzer Association Philippines, Inc. (1995).

Though he was never sent back to China, he made the Philippines his home and embarked himself on a self-appointed mission that would keep him busy for the rest of his life—helping poor Filipino children out of poverty through education.