The news of Fr. Antonio Pereira's death leaves me sad. But it may have also brought him relief from nearly 11 years of paralysis. Even after moving out of Goa / India (and the Society of Jesus), not once could I be in Goa and not reach till Fr. Antonio's room at St. Britto's to spend a few minutes with him. Many years of living together at the Xavier Centre of Historical Research, and occasionally at Baga Retreat House, retain many fond memories. But more anecdotal cases happened when we travelled together to Lisbon in 1985 to participate in the 4th International Seminar on Indo-Portuguese History. The first incident took place when we reached the Lisbon airport. Antonio Pereira was asked by the customs officer to open his bag. Antonio Pereira was carrying quite a few packets of cashew-nuts for his old Bicholim school boys in Lisbon! The customs officer told Fr. Antonio Pereira: "minha pequena gosta de caro�os" (my little one likes cashew nuts), suggesting obviously that he leaves behind some! I was taken aback by Fr. Antonio Pereira's quipped quite spontaneously: "a minha pequena tamb�m gosta", and closed his bag quickly! After that we reached the Jesuit provincial house in Lisbon (Lapa) where we were going to stay. It was past 9.30 p.m. and the Jesuit community had already finished its dinner. An old brother was looking after the kitchen. Fr. Antonio Pereira was hungry after the long journey from Bombay till Lisbon, and we went to see if there was any dinner for us! The old brother Paulo's reply was: "podem comer amanh�"! (you may tomorrow)! It was Fr. Pereira's first visit to Lisbon, and he was quite impressed by the austere hospitality of the Lisbon Jesuits! Even the last time I visited Fr. Antonio Pereira some months ago, he still recalled with humour that incident of the Portuguese Jesuit brother's advice about eating the next day!
May his sould rest in peace and be filled with the bountiful and everlasting heavenly hospitality! No "next day" now Fr. Antonio Pereira!. Teotonio ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
