A principal, mentor and friend Marie Soares pays tribute to Fr Anil Soares, S J of Poona Province, a simple, humble and devoted priest who passed away last month.
On April 28, the day Fr Anil Soares died, his sister told me this story. "As youngsters together in Poona,we siblings would say 'Good heavens, Anil aren't you going to sleep? Only to be told 'after I say my prayers'. And there would Anil be, a mere stripling of thirteen, kneeling with hand joined, eyes closed reciting his simple prayers." Anil received the Call then, and when he died aged 66, just a year short of the Golden Anniversary of his joining the Jesuits, many at his funeral said simply, 'He was truly a good priest' indeed a rare tribute these days and a well deserved one. As one of the educationists Edward Soares, founder of the well known St Thomas School, Aldona, Goa and Beatrice Soares, herself a school teacher, it was inevitable that Anil adopted the teaching line after joining the Jesuits at age 16. His BEd and MEd were done from Poona University and he earned a Masters Degree in English from Loyola University, Chicago. He then served as Principal of St Britto's, Mapusa, Loyola High School, St Vincent's and St Joseph's High School, Pune. He left his mark on the numerous lives he touched- his students knew him as a strict disciplinarian but also very fair and impartial and never unkind. The boys enjoyed his English and history classes. The teachers held him in high esteem and the parents found him to be approachable, sincere and genuinely concerned but completely impervious to inducements and pressure. When he died, he was 'Socius' (Assistant and Companion) to the provincial, a most demanding post and one he performed with his usual dedication. Anil's commitment to his priestly calling was evident in his humility and austerity. Despite his family's teasing, he went his simple way only buying for himself the bare necessities, carrying for years a well-worn cloth bag and wearing large spectacles of ancient vintage. He never had his own bike and only recently acquired a cell phone which he inherited from a fellow priest. Anil always said he truly enjoyed pastoral work. Whenever possible, he gladly lent a hand in one parish or another. He gave retreats and was confessor for the nearby Religious communities who found him most approachable, likeable and very kind. He liked to visit the sick and the poor for whom he had a special concern and very particularly devoted himself to his priest companions when they were sick and alone. Serious and earnest though he was, he took childlike delight in social events and his happy chuckle and good humour are a pleasure to recall. Though he held positions of authority, he was ever self-effacing and never lost the common touch. In fact it embarrassed him hugely to be praised and commended. At his funeral, St Xavier's Church was packed to overflowing with priests, nuns, ex-students and people from all over Pune. They didn't come out of duty -- there was a palpable feeling of love, deep regard and admiration for this man. There was no eulogy, no paeans of praise and fine oration, just a little voice in people's hearts that said. "This was God's own good man. We were privileged to have known him. How we wish we could be like him." COURTESY: Gomantak Times.
