30th June 10 am St Thomas Parish, Middleton Row, Kolkata was the venue for the funeral mass of Archbishop Emeritus Henry Sebastian D'Souza. Cardinal Telesphore Placidus Toppo led the Eucharist concelebrated by 14 prelates. As the church was packed to capacity, many devotees who thronged St Thomas Church were accommodated in the Loreto House AC hall, where a video screen was put up to catch up with the proceedings.
Fr. Dominic Gomes, Vicar General, read out the life sketch of Archbishop Emeritus Henry D’Souza, in particular the milestones during his long years of pastoral service as Bishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar and then as Archbishop of Calcutta (All reports said that the Archbishop was born in Calcutta whereas the says he was born in Igatpuri, a town and hill station in Nasik).
Archbishop Thomas D’Souza in his homily read out a message from His Holiness Pope Francis who expressed his condolence for the demise of Archbishop Emeritus Henry D’Souza. He said: “And let us pray for those in the clergy, religious and lay faithful of the Archdiocese of Calcutta.” In his message His Holiness joined the faithful gathered in giving thanks to God for the years of pastoral service which Archbishop Henry D’Souza gave to the church in Calcutta and prayed for the repose of his soul. To all present he imparted his cordial blessing as a pledge of consolation and hope in the Risen Lord. The Archbishop’s tenor was one of thanksgiving and making an effort to emulate the good work of the late prelate.
Bishop Monis Cyprian of Asansol Diocese expressed profound gratitude to his mentor Henry for all his success. He narrated how Calcutta Archdiocese was bifurcated and Asansol Diocese carved out, with him being installed Bishop on 12th March 1998.
There were several speakers including the late Archbishop’s brother & niece and Derek O’Brien Rajya Sabha MP who shared their fond memories of the late Archbishop Henry D’Souza.
The sedate choir of the Missionaries of Charity sisters caught everyone's attention – it was simply sublime. The Bengali choir too sang very well.
Among the 14 prelates, including Archbishops Abraham Viruthakulangara of Nagpur and John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, Monsignor Joseph Chinnayyan Deputy Secretary General of CBCI, and scores of priests and nuns who bid farewell to the founder and former President of Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), was Mother Teresa’s Spiritual Adviser Fr Rosario Stroscio (Auxilium Parish) who on 18th May celebrated his 95th birthday.
Fr Rodney Borneo of the Young Brigade conducted the proceedings admirably.
Brief Sketch of Archbishop Emeritus Henry D’Souza’s pastoral life:
Born in Igatpuri (Nasik) in1926
Born
Igatpuri (Nasik)
On 24th August 1948 he was Ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Church
24 January, 1974: He was appointed Bishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar, India
He was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Calcutta, India on 5th April
He then succeeded to become Archbishop of Calcutta, India
2 April 2002, he retired from the post of Archbishop Of Calcutta, India
On 27 Jun 2016, he passed away to meet his maker at his heavenly abode.
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