Menin, Thank you so much for this detailed and beautifully written account of our dear Fr. Jimmy. Although I did know he was doing some wonderful work in Karachi, I had no idea he had accomplished so much in his lifetime; and all done with absolutely no fanfare or seeking accolades in any way, whatsoever. Clearly a priest completely devoted to the people, this kind, unassuming and caring man! Whenever I wonder what Jesus may have really been like, someone like Fr. Jimmy serves as a possible reminder. When someone of this stature passes on, it feels like one of the most majestic (and, obviously, irreplaceable) trees in the forest has been felled. I cannot begin to imagine how much he will be missed. I still have very fond memories of Fr. Jimmy stopping by at our home in Sonarbatt, Saligao, for a small chat out on the 'balcao', on the way to/from his own home, which was just a few houses up the lane from ours...quite literally going down memory lane, here! I don't ever recall not seeing a smile on Fr. Jimmy's face, or seeing him rushed, impatient or demonstrate any other negative quality. Although, reading Menin's write up, it appears that he did reserve those emotions for people who deserved them!
Thanks again, Menin, for taking the trouble to highlight some of this wonderful man's work. He was, undoubtedly, one of a kind! Patsy (née Saldanha) veerapan <[email protected]> wrote: ><!-- .hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { font-size: >12pt; font-family:Calibri } --> > >HI ALL, >BY ALL ACCOUNTS , THE DECEASED WAS A BRILLIANT MAN . >WHILE READING ABOUT HIM I HAVE DISCOVERED HE UNDERTOOK HIS PRIESTLY TRAINING >AT THE SEMINARY IN KANDY , CEYLON AS I KNEW IT . >IT WAS HERE MGR. ERIC BARBER WHO RETIRED AS THE VICAR GENERAL OF THE >ARCHDIOCESE OF CALCUTTA AND LATER THE PARISH PRIEST OF SACRED HEART CHURCH , >DHARUMTALLA , FINALLY RETIRING TO MIDDLETON ROW WITH THE LORETO NUNS AND OTHER >CLERGY INCLUSIVE OF ANOTHER SEMINARIAN FROM KANDY , EMERITUS FR .HENRY D'SOUZA >, WHO I THINK IS STILL ALIVE IN CALCUTTA . >HE WAS PREVIOUSLY THE ARCHBISHOP OF CALCUTTA HAVING TAKEN OVER FROM ARCHBISHOP >DYER (?) WHO HAD SUCCEEDED FERDINAND PERIER S.J. . >MGR. BARBER WAS IN FACT MY GODFATHER . >HE MAY HAVE TRAINED WITH THE DECEASED AND WOULD HAVE BEEN ROUGHLY 96 YEARS OF >AGE IF HE WAS ALIVE . >CHEERS STEPHEN > > >From: [email protected] >Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2016 19:47:45 +0530 >Subject: [SALIGAONET] The inspiring Goan priest from Karachi, aged 90, who >died with his boots on ... (Menin Rodrigues, Goanet) >To: [email protected]; [email protected] > >[Goanet] The inspiring Goan priest from Karachi, aged 90, who died with his >boots on ... (Menin Rodrigues, Goanet) > > >Goanet Reader goanetreader at gmail.com > >Sat Jan 30 05:48:41 PST 2016 > >Previous message: [Goanet] Easy listening selection...........Peggy Lee & Bing >Crosby. > >Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] > >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 > >meninr at 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. > > > >-- > >_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ >_/ >_/ Frederick Noronha http://about.me/noronhafrederick http://goa1556.in >_/ P +91-832-2409490 M 9822122436 Twitter @fn Fcbk:fredericknoronha >_/ Hear Goa,1556 shared audio content at https://archive.org/details/goa1556 >_/ >_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ > > >-- >-- >Saligao-Net is at http://groups.google.com/group/saligao-net >To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >To unsubscribe email [email protected] > >--- >You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >"Saligao-Net" group. >To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >email to [email protected]. >For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > > >-- >-- >Saligao-Net is at http://groups.google.com/group/saligao-net >To post to this group, send email to [email protected] >To unsubscribe email [email protected] > >--- >You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >"Saligao-Net" group. >To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >email to [email protected]. >For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- -- Saligao-Net is at http://groups.google.com/group/saligao-net To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe email [email protected] --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Saligao-Net" group. 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