Aloysius Varsi

Rev. Aloysius Varsi, SJ, (9 March 1830 - 27 November 1900), was an American educator and college president.

Varsi was born in Cagliari, Sardinia and entered the Society of Jesus, an order of the Roman Catholic Church, on May 2, 1845. He was educated at St. Teresa's College in Cagliari, and he went to Turin, Toulouse, and Vals for advanced training in literature and philosophy. Shortly afterward, he continued studies of physics and higher mathematics at the University of Paris.

In 1861, Fr. Varsi sailed to the United States and studied theology in Boston, Massachusetts, where he also taught physics and chemistry. He moved to California in 1865 and took up a professorship in physics at Santa Clara College; two years thereafter he was assigned the presidency (1868 - 1876). During his tenure, the original chapel was destroyed in an earthquake, and a large new theatre building, Exhibition Hall, replaced the old edifice.

After 1876, Varsi was assigned to St. Ignatius College in San Francisco, where he became the superior of the California Mission, (similar to a province), and constructed the first college buildings, including St. Ignatius Church, many of which were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. He died in San Francisco in 1900.

References

Santa Clara College (corporate authorship). "Souvenir of Santa Clara College". Santa Clara, CA: University Press, 1901. (Page 20)