Venerable Father Agnelo de Sousa: Son of our Archdiocese
*Dr.Ivo da Conceição Souza
Introduction:
As a seed sprouts in a field under certain conditions, so also human beings
grow in different places differently. We need conditions and opportunities
for education. Our Goan personalities have been shining throughout the
world. Some of them grew in the Goan soil under some conditions. Father
Agnelo de Sousa grew in our own soil. We shall briefly examine how he grew
as a son of Goan soil, of our families, of our environment. He was a son of
Goan soil, a son of Goan Catholic families, a son of our culture, a son of
Goan Archdiocese. We are longing to see him on the altar as a Saint, as a
source of inspiration for our youth. He grew in a good family, in a good
parish, excelling in human and Christian maturity. His nature and nurture
will shed light on the social, cultural and spiritual atmosphere of Goan
society and ecclesial community at those times.
His Life: Born on January 21, 1869, in the ward of Ganvaddi of Anjuna, to
Miguel Arcanjo Mariano de Sousa and Maria Sinforosa Perpétua Magalhães, he
was solemnly baptized with the name of Agnelo Gustavo Adolfo de Sousa, on
February 13, 1869, by Fr.João Baptista de Sousa, Asst.Parish-priest of
Anjuna, with the permission of the Vicar-in-charge, Fr.Valentim Constantino
Fernandes. The name given to him, Agnelo (from the Latin term agnus,
agnellus, "little lamb") was tallying with his nature: he was gentle,
peace-loving, humble, faithful to rules and regulations, "blindly" obedient,
lover of silence. The atmosphere of faith and love, in which Agnelo grew in
the bosom of his family, instilled in him apostolic spirit. His Mother would
give catechetical instruction to the children of neighbourhood.
Agnelo lost his father, when he was only eleven years old (on May 6, 1880),
and his mother, two years later, on May 22, 1882. On her death bed, his
Mother summoned her children round her and, pointing out to the picture of
the Mother of Jesus, told them: "My darling children, I am about to leave
you for good. From now onwards your true Mother is our Lady, to whom you
should turn in all your needs". Agnelo grew in his great devotion to the
Virgin Mary.
One of his uncles, Fr.Lázaro Fortunato Sousa, seeing his zeal in the
catechism classes, prophesied: "Agnelo will one day be a virtuous Priest and
a renowned Preacher". He was an angel of peace among his classmates. He
completed his theological studies in the Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol, on
March 22, 1893.
As the Portuguese Government forbade religious societies in Goa, but he
ardently desired to join a Religious Order, Agnelo made up his mind to seek
admission in the Society of Missionaries of St.Francis Xavier at Pilar.
After being admitted as a candidate in the Society of Pilar on July 17,
1897-the feast day of Our Lady of Pilar, patroness of the Convent and of the
Society-he was ordained Deacon on December 18, 1897, by the first Patriarch
of the East Indies, Archbishop Dom António Sebastião Valente (1882-1908), at
the Convent of Santa Mónica, Old Goa, and five months later on May 22, 1898,
he made his first profession as a member of Missionary Society of Pilar, in
the presence of the Superior, Msgr.Lúcio Vaz, the successor of Fr.Bento
Martins, the Founder and first Superior of the Society in 1887.
He was ordained a Priest on September 24, 1899, by the same Dom
António Sebastião Valente, at the Cathedral See of Goa. He offered his First
Eucharist at the Monastery of Pilar, in the presence of the Members of the
Society, friends, relatives and people from the surrounding villages.
His Priestly Ministry: Fr.Agnelo spent the first ten years of his priestly
life, almost buried in the recesses of the Monastery at Pilar. Like a
hermit, he lived in an atmosphere of faith and silence, and grew in the
virtue of love. Soon after his perpetual profession, Fr.Agnelo was appointed
Confessor of the students of the Seminary of Rachol on August 18, 1908, by
Dom Teotónio Manuel Ribeiro Vieira de Castro (1931-1940), Bishop of Mylapore
and Administrator of the Archdiocese of Goa. Meanwhile, he resided in the
church of Sirodá, as an Assistant to fellow-members of the Society of Pilar,
to Fr.José Nicolau Sousa, and later to Fr.Possídio Gracias, who were
successively Vicars of Sirodá. By the Decree of December 10, 1909, Fr.
Agnelo was appointed as Missionary Vicar of Kumpta in North Kanara (now in
the diocese of Karwar), by the new Patriarch of Goa, Dom Matheus de Oliveira
Xavier (1909-1929), and took charge of his post on January 6, 1910. He
served the missionary parish of Kumpta, for a short period of seven years,
till May 21, 1917, when he was transferred to Sanvordém in Goa, as an
Assistant to the Parish-priest, Fr.Alcuino da Costa. As a shepherd, reared
in the Goan 'susegad' milieu, Fr.Agnelo built a community of faith and a
community of love.
Fr.Agnelo was known as a saintly preacher throughout his
priestly life through is sermons, retreats and missions. During his
preaching ministry, from the year 1908 till 1927, he covered almost every
parish of Goa. He became a "martyr to preaching"-proclaiming the Word of
God, even in his acute physical suffering, until he died-that was his last
sermon on the day of Vespers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus-his greatest
devotion-in the Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol. He died at his post as a
preacher. Through preaching he drew men and women to God, to his Son, to a
renewed life. He would preach with unction, what would render his preaching
effective. What was attracting others was that he had within his heart what
he wished to share with others. His sermons were simple, like sparks of
fire. He touched the hearts of the people. He preached what he lived. He
would pray before the Blessed Sacrament or lean on his bed with the Cross in
his hands as a preparation for his sermons and spiritual talks. Prayer would
give him courage to preach the "crucified love" (cf.1 Cor 2:2; see Ga 6:14).
His voice in the pulpit was like the roar of a lion (particularly when
preaching on Death and Final Judgment), by contrast with the gentleness and
humaneness, like a lamb ("Agnellus" that he was), in the confessional, as he
himself explained it: "We are fishermen in the pulpit-we splash the waters
in order to drive the fish into the net; when in the confessional, we gather
them". He was devoted to the Eucharist, to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to
Mary, Mother of Sorrows, and to the Guardian Angel.
While he was serving as an Assistant to the Parish-priest of the
Mission of Sanvordem, he was invited by the Rector, Msgr.Ganganelli da
Piedade Rebelo, to be the Spiritual Director at Rachol Seminary. His
appointment as Spiritual Director of the Seminary was confirmed by the
Patriarch of Goa, Dom Matheus de Oliveira Xavier, and he was appointed also
Director of the Apostleship of Prayer in the same Seminary, where he served
till the end.
His Character: Fr.Agnelo was a "model" in his times, depending on his
temperament and mentality. There was a consensus in assessing him as
"humble, prayerful, self-denying and saintly". He was a father, teacher,
friend and guide to the seminarians, entrusted to his paternal care, to
whose training he devoted himself wholeheartedly. They would hang on to his
lips, without getting tired of listening to him, since he was clear,
sincere, convinced of what he was saying. Road to perfection for the
seminarians was, according to him, to be enamoured of their duties as
students and as priests-to-be. "As seminarians, so will the priests be". He
was devoted to the Sacred Heart and would say: "We have to burn ourselves
somewhere, either in this world with love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus or in
the next life in hell". He would inculcate in them love for the Apostleship
of Prayer, as an efficacious means of "winning souls to God". He would walk
through the Seminary corridors, with downcast eyes, with hands in the
pocket, praying the Rosary. Very few readers will know that Fr.Agnelo was
smoking "beedi" (canudo, Indian cigarrette), which he was jocularly saying
that it was his "vice".
Fr. Agnelo impressed one and all as being "gripped by God", leading the
students by the force of his example. He would inspire and influence in a
charming way all those who came in contact with him. He would console the
seminarians and render stability to their priestly vocation, as well
encourage those who would like to embrace the religious life. Fr.Agnelo
would be concerned, not only with the "spiritual" life of the seminarians,
but also with their holistic well-being, including their material wants. He
would help them even financially, chiefly those coming from less privileged
families. He lived as an example and died a good death, which was the
"apotheosis of his saintly life".
His Death: While he was preaching the Novena of the Sacred Heart , having
reached the last day, at Vespers of the Feast, on November 19, 1927,
Fr.Agnelo could not continue to preach, ended it earlier, knelt in the
pulpit for a final thanksgiving prayer, lost balance, was borne away in a
helpless, but conscious state. Laid on a bench in the corridor of the church
at his request, Fr.Agnelo received with folded hands the benediction of the
Blessed Sacrament. He had suffered a cerebral thrombosis with paralysis of
the left arm and leg. While the Seminary physician, Dr.João Filipe
Figueiredo, was urgently summoned and medical treatment at once imparted,
the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick was given by Fr.Bruno de Menezes,
Professor of Liturgy and Gregorian Chant. He received from him also the Holy
Viaticum and then lapsed into a coma, on the day of the Feast of the Sacred
Heart, at 5 a.m. on November 20, 1927, as he had already during his life
expressed a desire. Seminarians were near his bed, two by two, trying their
best to attend to him throughout the night. One could hear everyone saying:
"He was a saint; a saint has died!" He was regarded as "illuminated".
Everyone would agree with the Parish-priest of Rachol, Fr.Manuel
Albuquerque, who after the last rites, exclaimed: " I have just laid a saint
to rest".
Conclusion: He is radiating a powerful message of faith and love, which he
imbibed in his family and Seminary formation. Simple, humble, unassuming,
austere by nature, obedient to the Superior, even if it be a stick (or of
wood), not photogenic, never hitting the headlines nor facing the
floodlights, he had stubborn courage of his convictions in action. Let us
walk in his steps without losing our own individuality, but by incarnating
the Gospel values, which our Venerable Agnelo imbibed from the family, Goan
milieu, Goan Archdiocese, lived and proclaimed: faith and love.
References:
Bento COURAÇA, "Padre Agnelo", Vauraddeancho Ixtt (Amigo dos Operários), May
10, 1945
Agnelo NORONHA, SFX, Venerable Fr.Agnelo D'Souza. A Saint for India, Pilar,
Goa, 1988, 38 pp
Aloysius G.REGO, Secrets to Share-In the Life of Fr.Agnelo De Souza, Pilar,
Goa, 1984
António PEREIRA, SJ, Goynche Dhortore voilo-Pri Agnelo, Pilar-Cchapkhanno,
1977