By Rita McInerney

The death from a heart attack of Father Anthony de Mello, SJ, 56, an internationally known spiritual writer and lecturer from India, on June 2 in New York, came as sad news to hundreds of people who knew him through his appearance in Atlanta last summer, through his books and his many videotapes.

He was scheduled to return to Atlanta Aug. 7 to 9 to give a series of talks at Marist High School. The appearance was being sponsored by Ignatius House, as was Father de Mello's 1986 appearance at St. Joseph's Hospital.

Father Kerry A. Clark, SJ, director at the Jesuit retreat house in Riverside Drive in Atlanta, who met Father de Mello for the first time last summer, said he "tried to get people in touch with their deepest selves. Most of us are splintered, not whole. He helped them to obtain a certain wholeness."

"He tried to get people to have a new image of God, what He is really like," Father Clark said. "The biggest obstacle for most is to think of God as we did when we were seven … or as a Santa Claus … Most Catholics do not have a very mature image of God."

He said Father de Mello, through his stories, tried to explain things through people's everyday experiences. "Jesus did everything Father de Mello did, told people to look at the lilies of the field to feel whole, to feel free."

In a letter to about 300 people registered for this summer's workshop, Father Clark quoted a story from Father de Mello's most recent book, One Minute Wisdom:

"'Of what use is a Master?' someone asked. Said the disciple, 'To teach you what you have always known: to show you what you are always looking at.' When this confused the visitor, the disciple explained: 'An artist, by his paintings, taught me to see the sunset. The Master, by his teachings, taught me to see the reality of every moment.'"

About 40 members of the community of St. John Neumann in Lilburn attended Father de Mello's workshop in Atlanta last summer after being introduced to his writings and tapes through adult education classes at the parish.

The pastor, Father Paul H. Reynolds, who knew Father de Mello personally, said a private memorial service for the community of Jesuits at Fordham, family members and close friends, was held in the Jesuit community chapel on the campus.

At the time of his death, Father de Mello, who has conducted summer workshops on spirituality in the United States for the past 15 years, was visiting Fordham University at the start of a series of 14 workshops which he was scheduled to give this summer in ten U.S., two Canadian, and two European cities.

He is best known for his four books on spirituality, which have been published in more than 15 languages. These were Sadhana: A Way to God in 1978, The Song of the Bird in 1982, Wellsprings in 1984 and One Minute Wisdom in 1985.

He was also founder and director of the Sadhana Institute for Spirituality in Lonavla, India, a training ground for spiritual directors and spiritual formation leaders.

Last year Father de Mello used a satellite hookup to conduct a national workshop on spirituality which reached students on 76 U.S. and Canadian campuses.

Jesuit Father J. Francis Stroud, a campus minister at Fordham University and coordinator of Father de Mello's lecture and television work, said funeral services for the priest would be held in India.

Father de Mello joined the Bombay province of Jesuits in 1947 and was ordained a priest of the order in 1961.