REV. THOMAS R. MARTIN, S. J.
NOVITATE OF THE SACRED HEART - LOS GATOS

SURNAMES:  KELLY,
Bio-Sawyers
A cultured and highly educated man, filled with enthusiasm for the education of boys for the priesthood, and training them to be devout and religious, Rev. Thomas R. Martin occupies the position of rector of the Novitiate of the Sacred Heart located at. Los Gatos, which he is filling worthily and capably. He was born in Boston, Mass., the fourth oldest of a family of six children born to Thomas and Catherine (Kelly) Martin, natives of Scotland and Boston, Mass., respectively. Thomas was reared in the cultured environment of the Hub City and there attended the public schools. On completing the high school in Massachusetts, he came to Los Gatos, Cal., in 1902 and entered the Novitiate of the Sacred Heart as a novice where he made his classics. He then entered the House of Philosophy at Gonzaga College at Spokane, Wash. where he completed philosophy and then taught at Gonzaga College for two years; then at St. Vincent's College, Los Angeles for three years; then entered Woodstock College in Maryland, where he completed his theology and was ordained at that educational institution in 1917 by Cardinal Gibbons for the California Province. He taught one year at Seattle College, then came to Los Gatos as teacher of classics at the Novitiate of the Sacred Heart and in July, 1921, was made rector, thus becoming the head of the institution where he began his novitiate.

The Novitiate of the Sacred Heart at Los Gatos is an interesting educational institution. For many years it was located at Santa Clara and is one of several colleges on the Pacific Coast, or rather the California Province, of the Society of Jesus. The provincial headquarters are in Portland and they have colleges at Los Angeles, Santa Clara, San Francisco, Seattle, and Spokane and have churches in various places and Indian missions in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Alaska. In time the quarters of the Novitiate at Santa Clara became too small, so in 1888 they established the Novitiate at Los Gatos. The present grounds, comprising a quarter section of land in the foothills above Los Gatos, commands a wonderful view of the Santa Clara Valley and the large and commodious buildings are erected on a natural plateau, requiring much excavation and filling for the site of the buildings. The first wing was built in 1906 and the right wing was finished in 1914, each two stories high. The class rooms, study rooms and dormitories are all equipped with the most modern furnishings and there is also a large chapel. Here the scholastics are trained in mathematics, academic and classical courses, preparatory to entering the House of Philosophy. There are about sixty young men in the institution and the faculty is composed of six Jesuit Fathers, who teach the various branches, with Rev. Thomas R. Martin in charge. Father Martin is intensely interested in the institution, where he received his instruction in classics, and leaves no stone unturned to assist the scholastics under him to advance their education and instill in them a high regard for their leading an upright and true Christian life.

From Eugene T. Sawyers' History of Santa Clara County,California,  published by Historic Record Co. , 1922. page 1143

Historical Articles on the Novitiate: (now known as the Jesuit Center)

http://www.svcn.com/archives/lgwt/08.11.99/pic-past-9932.html

Leo Walker- cook at the Novitiate for 39 years
http://www.svcn.com/archives/lgwt/20040317/lgcover.shtml

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