Agnelo de Souza (born Agnelo Gustavo Adolfo de Souza; 21 January 1869 – 20 November 1927), was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest of the

Society of the Missionaries of St. Francis Xavier, Pilar The Society of the Missionaries of St. Francis Xavier, Pilar ( la, Societas Missionariorum Sancti Francisci Xaverii), abbreviated SFX and commonly referred to as the Society of Pilar or the Pilar Fathers is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic socie ...

who performed missionary work in the province of

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

, then part of

Portuguese India The State of India ( pt, Estado da Índia), also referred as the Portuguese State of India (''Estado Português da Índia'', EPI) or simply Portuguese India (), was a state of the Portuguese Empire founded six years after the discovery of a se ...

. The cause for his

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

has been accepted for investigation by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, and has progressed to the point that he has been declared

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cathol ...

Life

Early life

De Souza was born in the village of

Anjuna Anjuna () is a village located on the coast of North Goa, India. It is a Census Town, one of the twelve Brahmin comunidades of Bardez. It is mostly a tourist destination. Its church, St. Michael's Church, Anjuna, founded in 1595, is dedicated ...

to Miguel Arcanjo de Souza and Maria Sinforosa Perpetua Magalhães. His parents had nine children, eight sons and a daughter, among whom Agnelo was the sixth child. Even as a small child, all were impressed by his behaviour. From a young age he would remember sermons heard at

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

and would teach ''doton'n'', that is the

catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...

, to other children, some even older than him. When De Souza was eleven, his parents died suddenly. As his mother was dying, she entrusted her children to the care of

Mary, the mother of Jesus Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

Seminary

With the encouragement of an older brother who was already a priest, de Souza pursued a call to the priesthood. He studied philosophy and theology at the Patriarchal Seminary at Rachol. Always in very poor health, he was allowed to live in a private dwelling off the seminary grounds, where he was able to do his studies diligently. He secured the much coveted and singular honor of ''acessit'' in his final year of study. Souza wanted to enter a

religious institute A religious institute is a type of institute of consecrated life in the Catholic Church whose members take religious vows and lead a life in community with fellow members. Religious institutes are one of the two types of institutes of consecrate ...

, but they had been banned in the lands under the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Crown since 1835. After much prayer and reflection, de Souza joined the Diocesan Missionary Society of St. Francis Xavier of Pilar on 17 July 1897. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

on 24 September 1898, by the

Archbishop of Goa The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Goa and Daman ( la, Archidioecesis Goanae et Damanensis, gom, Gõy ani Damanv Mha-Dhormprant, pt, Arquidiocese de Goa e Damão) encompasses the Goa state and the Damaon territory in the Konkan r ...

and

Patriarch of the East Indies The Titular Patriarch of the East Indies ( la, Patriarcha Indiarum Orientalium; for Titular Patriarchate of the East Indies) in the Catholic hierarchy is the title of the Archbishop of Goa and Daman in India; another of his titles is the Primate ...

António Sebastião Valente Dom Sebastião António Valente (20 January 1846http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bvalente.html , Google cache of catholic-hierarchy.org page, accessed on August 9, 2015 - 25 January 1908) was a Catholic archbishop and Portuguese coloni ...

Missionary

On 8 September 1908, de Souza became a full-fledged member of the Society. His life as a priest took him to Siroda and

Sanvordem Sanvordem ''Sanvodd'ddem'', pronounced ) is a census town in South Goa district in the Indian state of Goa. It is near Shiroda. Sunday is the major market day and people from the nearby areas flock to buy necessities. A few years back it was co ...

in Goa, besides

Kumta Kumta is a town and taluk in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India. It is one of the important stations along the Konkan Railway line running between Mumbai and Mangalore. Geography The city of Kumta is located on the Arabian sea ...

, near

Karwar Karwar is a seaside city, ''taluka'', and administrative headquarters of Uttara Kannada district lying at the mouth of the Kali river on the Kanara coast of Karnataka state, India. Karwar is a popular tourist destination and with a city urba ...

. He was their priest, preacher, confessor and administrator.

Spiritual Director

The then Archbishop of Goa e Damão and Patriarch of the East Indies, Mateus de Oliveira Xavier, appointed de Souza as the Spiritual Director of the Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol on 20 May 1918.

Death and veneration

De Souza died on the feast of the

Sacred Heart of Jesus The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This dev ...

, which was on 20 November in 1927. He collapsed on the pulpit towards the end of the sermon. He insisted on waiting till the

Benediction A benediction (Latin: ''bene'', well + ''dicere'', to speak) is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the expositio ...

of the

was buried in Rachol. The parish priest who buried him roughly said these words "''Hanvem atanch eka Santak matiek laila"'', which means "I have just laid a Saint to rest." His remains were brought to Pilar on 10 January 1939., para 20_line 1 and para 29.

The cause for his canonisation

The process of canonization was begun by the Society with the permission of the Patriarch of Goa in 1947. The second process was presented to the Sacred Congregation of Rites on 5 October 1959. The

Sacred Congregation of Rites The Sacred Congregation of Rites was a congregation of the Roman Curia, erected on 22 January 1588 by Pope Sixtus V by '' Immensa Aeterni Dei''; it had its functions reassigned by Pope Paul VI on 8 May 1969. The Congregation was charged with the ...

approved the third process of "De non-cultu" on 27 May 1969. De Souza was declared

venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cathol ...

by the Vatican on 10 November 1986. A '

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

' is granted only to the beatified or canonized persons. As de Souza is not yet beatified or canonized like

Joseph Vaz Joseph Vaz ( Konkani: ''San Zuze Vaza''; pt, São José Vaz; kn, ಪವಿತ್ರಾ ಯೋಸೆಫ್ ವಾಸ್ ಸಂತರು ''Pavitra Yoseph Vaz Santaru''; ta, புனித யோசேப் வாஸ் முனிவர் ...

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...

, he does not have a feast day. De Souza was made a

in 1986, and requires a first-class miracle to be beatified. The vice-postulator for his cause is Hilario Fernandes.

Legacy

Venerable Fr. Agnelo's day is celebrated on 20 November every year, with

novena A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pen ...

s beginning on 10 November. He is said to have wanted to die on this feast, and God granted his wish. The hymn ''Padr Agnel, amchea ixtta'' (Father Agnel, our friend) was written in his honor, besides ''Padr Agnelak, Altaracho Man'' and several others. A road in

Panaji Panaji (; also known as Panjim) is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river estuary ...

is named as Father Agnel Road. A road in Gogol,

Margao Margao or Madgaon is the commercial capital of the Indian state of Goa. It stands on banks of the Sal river and is the administrative headquarters of Salcete sub-district and South Goa district. It is Goa's second largest city by population aft ...

is also named in his honour.

References

External links

A website with some more information.
a website with a lot more information, and many important links.
The Venerable Pilar Father - Fr. Agnelo de Souza
at the website

Venerable Agnelo D'Souza
a dedicated website

a dedicated webpage in Konkani {{DEFAULTSORT:Souza, Agnelo de 1869 births 1927 deaths People from North Goa district 19th-century Indian Roman Catholic priests 20th-century Indian Roman Catholic priests Roman Catholic missionaries in India Indian Roman Catholic missionaries 20th-century venerated Christians Konkani people Servants of God Burials in Goa Christianity in Goa Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II Scholars from Goa