Archbishop Henry D'Souza, Mother Teresa's friend, dies
Kolkata: Archbishop Henry D'Souza, a friend of Mother Teresa
for more than 35 years and a founding member of the
Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC), died of
age-related illness on June 27 in Kolkata, eastern India.
The death occurred at 1:30 pm at Vianni Home, in the premise
of St. Thomas Parish, near Calcutta Jesuit Provincial house,
where the 90-year-old prelate was spending his retirement.
The funeral Mass will be held at St. Thomas Parish at 10 am
on June 30.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) condoled the
death and prayed for the repose of the prelate's soul.
"Archbishop D'Souza's contributions to the Church
in India are precious and manifold. In his capacity
as the secretary general of the CBCI and president
of the CCBI (Conference of Catholic Bishops of
India -- Latin rite), he has rendered effective
leadership, especially in crucial moments," CBCI
deputy secretary general Monsignor Joseph
Chinnayyan told Matters India.
"Emeritus Archbishop of Kolkata Henry D'Souza just passed
away. Much loved educationist and man of God. Friend of our
family. RIP," Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien said in a tweet.
Archbishop D'Souza, who headed the Archdiocese of Calcutta
during 1986-2002, played a crucial role in fast-tracking
Blessed Mother Teresa's canonization process.
"It is sad that he missed Mother Teresa's
canonization," said Jesuit Fr R Jothi, director of
Udayani, a human rights center in Kolkata. Mother
Teresa's canonization is scheduled for September 4
in Rome.
According to Fr Jothi, the archbishop was "a creative
spiritual stalwart and holy man well integrated in Theology.
His homilies were very inspiring, challenging and hope
giving."
Archbishop D'Souza hit international headlines for the smooth
handling of the funeral of Blessed Mother Teresa who died on
September 5, 1987, in Kolkata. However, he was away in Rome
when she died. As the sole Asian representative for the
composition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, he had
gone to Rome to present its text to Cardinal Josef Ratzinger,
who later became Pope Benedict XVI.
Archbishop D'Souza often hailed Mother Teresa as "the face of
Christ in the world" for spending her life time helping
people understand the nature of the divine.
He was born January 20, 1926, in Kolkata (then Calcutta) and
was ordained a priest on August 24, 1948. He was appointed
the bishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar in 1974. In 1985, he was
transferred to the Calcutta a as the coadjutor Archbishop. He
succeeded Cardinal Lawrence Picachy as the archbishop of
Calcutta on April 5, 1986.
He had also served as the first bishop of
Cuttack-Bhubaneswar. Known as an educationist, he had also
played a major role in founding the Sacred Heart School in
Kharagpur town. He started Life Assenting, a newsletter for
senior citizen, and edited it until the end.
SOURCE:
http://mattersindia.com/2016/06/archbishop-henry-dsouza-mother-teresas-friend-dies/
The extract below is from the book *Land of the Sal Tree* (now out of
print) by
Fr Nascimento J Mascarenhas (some details differ --editor):
MOST REV. ARCHBISHOP EMERITUS HENRY SEBASTIAN D'SOUZA (1926-2016)
Henry Sebastian is the son of George D'Souza and of Aurolina
D'Souza from Arrarim. He was born on January 20, 1926 in
Igatpuri, a hill station in Nasik District in the State of
Maharashtra.
He was ordained priest on August 24, 1948 at the age of 22
years, and was ordained Bishop of Cuttuck-Bhubaneshwar at the
age of 48 years on May 5, 1974. He served as Bishop of
Cuttuck-Bhubaneshwar for 11 years before being appointed
Coadjutor to the Archbishop of Calcutta.
On April 5, 1996, he was appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of
Calcutta, a position he held until April 2002. He also served
as the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India
(C.B.C.I.) from 1998 to 2002.
Archbishop Henry D'Souza retired as Archbishop of Calcutta on
April 2, 2002 at the age of 76 years. He resides now at
Archbishop's House, Calcutta.
Among his other duties, Archbishop Henry served as President
of Caritas (India) and, later, as member of the Extraordinary
Synod of Bishops held in Rome. He was also Secretary-General
to the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) from
1984 to 1993.
He also headed the process to declare Mother Teresa a saint
within two years of her death. Archbishop Henry S. D'Souza
donated his ancestral home located in Arrarim, Saligao, to
the Conference of St. Vincent de Paul of Saligão for their
charitable activities.
###
