Basil Salvadore D'Souza
Basil Salvadore D'Souza | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Mangalore | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| See | Mangalore Diocese |
| In office | 1965–1996 |
| Predecessor | Raymond D'Mello |
| Successor | Aloysius Paul D'Souza |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 11 May 1965 |
| Consecration | by James Robert Knox, Albert Vincent D'Souza, and Alphonsus Mathias |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 May 1926 Mangalore, British India |
| Died | 5 September 1996 (aged 70) Mangalore, Karnataka, India |
Basil Salvadore D'Souza (23 May 1926 – 5 September 1996) was the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mangalore from 22 March 1965 until his death on 5 September 1996. He was the longest-serving bishop in the diocese's history.[1]
Early life
Basil Salvadore D'Souza was born on 23 May 1926 in St. Lawrence parish, at Bondel, Mangalore. He was the eldest of seven children to a Mangalorean Catholic couple, Diego and Maria D'Souza (née Pereira). The family belonged to the D'Souza-Kamath clan, a Mangalorean Catholic clan of the same area.[2] Economically, the family was poor and subsisted on income generated by cultivating betel leaves.[3] D'Souza was ordained into the priesthood on 25 March 1952.[2] He later became the manager of the Catholic Board of Education, and also served at the Kodialbail Press.[3]
Bishop of Mangalore
D'Souza was appointed Bishop of Mangalore on 22 March 1965, and consecrated on 11 May 1965 by Abp James Robert Knox, papal nuncio in India.[3] He retained the post until his death, thereby becoming the longest-serving bishop of the diocese.[1] D'Souza was among the few participants in the final sessions of the Second Vatican Council in 1965.[1] He spearheaded the implementation of the renewal then proclaimed by the council, and became the first Indian bishop to implement what was envisaged in the documents of the Second Vatican Council.[3] He was responsible for the introduction of vernacular services instead of Latin in his diocese.[3] The Bible and other liturgical texts were translated into Konkani during his tenure.[1] He organised the welcome for Pope John Paul II during his visit to Mangalore on 6 February 1986.[1]
D'Souza's long tenure saw the establishment of several new parishes (mainly in the remote villages) and institutions such as family guidance centres.[2] He founded a new mission outside the Mangalore Diocese at Bidar in northern Karnataka, where the number of Christians was small.[2] He adopted the place as a missionary territory, and it later became a part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gulbarga.[1] D'Souza served as Chairman of the CBCI Commission of Vocations, in which capacity he founded the National Vocation Centre at Poona.[2] He also founded the Chair of Christianity at Mangalore University in 1987.[2]
Death
D'Souza died of heart attack on 5 September 1996.[3] During his time of death, D'Souza was just five years away from retirement [3] His remains were interred at the Rosario Cathedral on 9 September 1996.[1] On 8 November, he was succeeded as Bishop of Mangalore Diocese by Aloysius Paul D'Souza.[4]
Citations
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Book on unknown aspects of late Bishop Basil D'Souza to be released". Mangalore Today. 2 September 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lobo 2000, p. 223
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Fr Baptist Menezes to Unveil Late Bishop Basil's 'The Unknown' Side on Sep 5". Daijiworld Media Pvt Ltd Mangalore. 1 September 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ↑ "Rev. Dr. Aloysius P. D'Souza (Mangalorean Star: May, 2006)". Mangalorean.com. May 2006. Archived from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
References
- Lobo, Michael (2000). Distinguished Mangalorean Catholics, 1800–2000: a historico-biographical survey of the Mangalorean Catholic community. Camelot Publishers. ISBN 978-81-87609-01-8..
External links
- Bishop Basil Salvadore D'Souza's profile at Catholic-hierarchy.org
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