Born: 1605, County Waterford
Entered: 11 June 1626 - Villarejo, Spain - Castellanae Province (CAST)
Final Vows: 28 March 1644, Paraguay
Died: 15 March 1675, Santa Fé de Bogotá, Colombia - Nuevo Reino Mission : COL, ECU, VEN (NEU REI)

◆ Fr Edmund Hogan SJ “Catalogica Chronologica” :
In pencil 1628 At Villareal

◆ Fr John MacErlean SJ :
Shortly after Entry was sent to South America and was the first Irishman to enter the new Province of “Nuevo Reino” (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela)
Having completed his studies at Santa Fé de Bogotá, he engaged in missionary work, being a distinguished preacher in Spanish and Indian languages.
1641 Minister at Fontibón Residence (suburb of Bogotá)
1655 Professor of Theology at Santa Fé de Bogotá
1656-1663 Rector of Merida College, Venezuela
1664-1671 Rector of Pamplona College, Colombia

◆ James B Stephenson SJ Menologies 1973
Father Francis Lea SJ 1605-1675
Fr Francis Lea of Waterford was the first Irishman to join the Province of Nuevo Reino, comprising the modern South American States of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela.

He was born in 1605 and he entered the Society at Villarejo in Spain in 1626, whence he passed soon to South America.

He did his studies at Santa Fe de Bogota and thereafter was engaged in missionary work. He was a distinguished preacher in Spanish and Indian. Later on in his life he was engaged in administration and professing, being Rector in Venezuela and Colombia.

He died at Santa Fe de Bogota in 1675 after a strenuous life of missionary and administrative activity.