Fr Jimmy (James) of Karachi and Goa 1925-2016 https://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/24080782713/in/dateposted/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/24614105731/in/dateposted/
By Menin Rodrigues men...@gmail.com He was always on the go! The pilgrim priest, a Laurentian by birth, a Patrician through education, a Kandy graduate and a priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of the Karachi since 1951; Fr. Jimmy as he was known to all, went about doing extraordinary missionary work in the vineyard of the Lord, until his very last days on earth! I've known Fr. Jimmy since being an altar boy at St. Pat's, sometimes serving at Mass for the small Bengali-speaking community in the play-hall and chapel of St. Joseph's Convent in 1970-71; my latter two interactions with him was when he took up the renovation of the Cathedral in 1998 and then his last ten years 2006-2016. His Spirituality touched me. His Wisdom enriched me. His resolve for the poor undeterred. In recent years, Fr. Jimmy came over frequently to share some of the challenging work he undertook at the home of Baji Mirium Bugeja who runs the Divine Mercy Home for the Mentally Destitute (formerly, Convent of Notre Dame, Mehran Goth, Deh Thano, Malir Village, Karachi). Every weekend he would go there with Gabriel Dean, his companion on the road, to say Mass, spend the day sorting the dilemma through which Baji Mirium had to go through and check the continuing problem with electricity connections, billing issues, theft and other irregularities. He kept the Karachi Electric (KESC) officers, inspectors and meter-readers engaged with his many letters of complaints and with help from Roland de Souza got a number of long-standing PMT, meter-reading and billing issues solved. Fr. Jimmy wrote piercing words in his communication with the authorities. When KE asked for information for their Empowerment Program, he wrote, "The Home is run and maintained by trust in Divine Providence. It does not have a bank account and there are no appeals for funds. It does not have an administrative staff, a Board of Directors or publish an Annual Report. Baji Mirium is solely responsible for the operation of this Home. She shuns publicity and more importantly, she will not use those in the Home as instruments/tools for raising funds or for self-promotion. She wants the dignity of everyone in the Home to be respected." Unlike some of his contemporaries, Fr. Jimmy wrote what his mind spoke! Indeed, we made good music together. He would write frequently about so many good and indifferent things, all with the power of the Holy Spirit! He carried with him loads of information and wrote pages of invaluable history, about diocesan institutions and about God's people. Early December (somewhere close to his 90th birthday on Dec 11, 2015), Fr. Jimmy gave me a comprehensive article about the start of St. Patrick's Technical School, also sending a copy to the Christian Voice. It was to be, as Providence would have it, his last piece of precious diocesan history. It was published in three-parts in the Christian Voice; the last piece was printed on January 24, 2016. Four days later, Fr. Jimmy passed away. He writes in Part 2 of his article, Fifty Years of St. Patrick's Technical School 1966-2016, "At the end of 1963, Fr. Dalmatius Geurts and I made an analysis of the actual situation and a feasibility study and came to the conclusion: There is a big demand for skilled craftsmen in Pakistan. Our final planning was a school for the following occupations: Metal Works, Auto Mechanics, Electro-Technology, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration, and Carpentry." When Bro Norman Wray (1923-2014) died on December 23, 2014 in Karachi, a man who had dedicated more than 50 years of service in Pakistan, Fr. Jimmy wrote a detailed article on the life of Norman, as someone who gave his life for imparting technical education and later the rehabilitation of drug addicts in Pakistan. He wrote, "St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians expresses our sentiments perfectly with regard to Brother Norman: We remember how he has helped to spread the Good News that God is Love; that God does not punish, wants to save all those who have the humility to admit their sinfulness and powerlessness over addictions. We are weak but God is all-powerful." Another interesting response I once got from Fr. Jimmy for my article published in the Christian Voice on August 17, 2007 "Crucifying Jesus -- Some interesting feedback on 40 pieces of Silver" was truly an eye-opener, his argument was, "What image of Jesus have we given our people? Have we, made Jesus, Shylock? Without compassion? Is this not a serious betrayal of Jesus? Besides, is this charging of Rs. 40 for each intention not a sin of Simony?" This is how Fr. Jimmy practiced his theological brilliance. James (Jimmy) de Souza's parents came from Saligao, Bardez, Goa, India; they moved to Karachi where Jimmy was born on December 11, 1925. They lived in Cincinnatus Town adjacent to St. Lawrence's Church; he got his early education at St. Patrick’s High School and in 1944 proceeded to the Papal Kandy, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) for his priestly studies. He was ordained a priest on 24 August 1951 in Karachi. Fr. Jimmy taught for a while in St Paul's English High School, and then in St. Anthony's School. Later he was appointed Principal of St. John Vianney School and held this post for many years. He was also involved with the repatriation of Bengalis in 1973, working with the ICRC and UNHCR. Interestingly, from amongst the Bengali congregation here, one of them, became a priest and later was made a Bishop in Bangladesh. When Fr. Jimmy taught at St Patrick's High School, Karachi he gave more meaning to his vocational duties by recruiting students to read to the blind at the Ida Rieu School. He was Rector of the St. Pius X Minor Seminary in Karachi in 1974 and earlier he had been the first Chaplain of the Monastery of the Angels. When he became the Rector of the Seminary he used to send his Seminarians to help the sisters with the cleaning of the Retreat House, a special planting project in the garden, or other heavy jobs. The sisters in turn supplied them with home-made jam, bakery goods, and fruits and vegetables from their garden. He was also a parish priest at the Cathedral in Hyderabad. Fr. Jimmy was the 40th Rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Karachi from 1995 to 2000. One of his major achievements was the renovation of the cathedral building during 1998-1999 with funds from parishioners, former parishioners and well-wishers in Karachi and abroad. In 2001 he celebrated the Golden Jubilee of his priesthood. He was assistant parish priest of St. Lawrence's Church, Karachi in 2006-2007. Fr. Jimmy celebrated the 60th sacerdotal anniversary of his ordination on August 24, 2011 with Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. On December 11, 2015 Fr. Jimmy celebrated his 90th birthday! On January 30, 2016 at his Funeral Service in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Karachi, two bishops, 30 priests, 50 religious, Baji Mirium and the residents of the Home, principals, teachers, students, and a church-full of people, bade him farewell. Bishop Emeritus Evarist Pinto in his Homily, said "Fr. Jimmy was a dedicated priest, his simplicity and concern for the poor was well-known; on a personal note, our families, who hailed from Aldona and Saligao, knew each other well. He will be remembered for his selfless work in the archdiocese of Karachi. May his soul rest in peace." # # # # Menin Rodrigues, whose roots lie in Colva, Goa, is active in networking the Goan community in Pakistan and runs the www.goansofpakistan.org/ site.