Aloysius Paul D'Souza ( knn, अलोय्सिउस पौल डी सोझा (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

), ಎಲೋಷಿಯಸ್ ಪಾವ್ಲ್ ಡಿ'ಸೋಜಾ (

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

); born 21 June 1941) is the former Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Mangalore The Roman Catholic Diocese of Mangalore ( la, Diocesis Mangalorensis) is a diocese located in the city of Mangalore in the Ecclesiastical province of Bangalore in India. The diocese falls on the southwestern coast of India. At present, it com ...

. He was consecrated on 8 November 1996, succeeding his predecessor Basil Salvadore D'Souza.

Early years

Aloysius Paul D'Souza was born on 21 June 1941 in Hekkotu, a neighbourhood in the Agrar suburb of

Bantwal Bantwal () is a taluk in Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, India. It is located East of Mangalore city center. BC Road-Kaikamba of Bantwal is one of the fastest developing areas in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. Along with BC ...

Dakshina Kannada Dakshina Kannada district is a district of Karnataka state in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangalore. It is part of the larger Tulu Nadu region. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east ...

. He was the sixth of seven children to Mathias and Isabella D'Souza. The family belonged to the D'Souza-Kamath clan, a

Mangalorean Catholic Mangalorean Catholics ( kok, Kōdiyālcheñ Kathōlikā) are an ethno-religious community of Latin Catholics in India typically residing in the Diocese of Mangalore in the erstwhile South Canara area, by the southwestern coast of present-day K ...

clan of the same area. One of his brothers Fr. Charles D'Souza is a pastor in the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Delhi The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Delhi ( la, Delhien(sis)) is a Latin Church Metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in northern India. Its cathedral archiepiscopal see is Sacred Heart Cathedral, in the national capital city of New Del ...

, and one of his sisters Sr. Janis A.C., is a nun in

Chandigarh Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...

. He completed his primary education at Agrar, and did his pre-university studies at the S. V. S. High School in Bantwal. In 1958, the same year of joining the high school, he joined the St. Joseph's seminary to study for the priesthood.

Diocesan work

D'Souza was ordained as a priest on 3 December 1966, and served as Assistant Priest of the

Holy Cross Church, Cordel The Holy Cross Church is a Roman Catholic church situated at Cordel in the Kulshekar locality of Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabi ...

until 1970. During this time, he graduated from

Karnataka University Karnatak University is a public state university in Dharwad district of Karnataka state, India. The university is recognized by University Grants Commission and accredited by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). As of 2014, ...

. Impressed by his competence and his creativeness and knowledge of Roman Catholic theology, the then Bishop of Mangalore Basil Salvadore D'Souza appointed D'Souza as the Diocesan Secretary. In 1971, the Diocesan authorities sent him to Rome to do a doctorate in

canonical law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

, where he specialised in Christian Marriage Law. Upon completing his doctorate, he was subsequently appointed as an Advocate of ''

Roman Rota The Roman Rota, formally the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota ( la, Tribunal Apostolicum Rotae Romanae), and anciently the Apostolic Court of Audience, is the highest appellate tribunal of the Catholic Church, with respect to both Latin-r ...

''—the supreme tribunal of Catholic Church, thereby becoming the first Indian priest to achieve this distinction. D'Souza is one of only two Indians to qualify as an Advocate of ''

'', in which capacity he was Judicial Vicar of the Mangalore Tribunal from 1984. D'Souza returned to

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...

in 1976, and was appointed the chancellor of the Mangalore Diocese in 1977. During this time, he was in charge of vocations and founded Gladson Home, a minor seminary in Bolar. He simultaneously held the posts of the

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of the

Cascia Cascia () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the Italian province of Perugia in a rather remote area of the mountainous southeastern corner of Umbria. It is about 21 km from Norcia on the road to Rieti in the Lazio (63 km). It is ...

parish from 1988 as well as that of the Director of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women from 1985. In 1995, he became the first Diocesan priest to be appointed as the first Rector of St. Joseph's Seminary in

Jeppu Jeppu is a locality in Mangalore city, Karnataka, India. It is situated on the southern part of Mangalore. Jeppu is on the bank of Nethravathi River. The National Highway 17 (India) passes through this locality. Jeppu means sleep in local Tu ...

Bishop of Mangalore Diocese

On 11 January 1996, 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 ...

under

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed D'Souza as Auxiliary Bishop of the Mangalore Diocese. Upon Bishop Basil Salvadore D'Souza's sudden death in 1996, he was appointed as titular Bishop on 15 May of the same year. On 27 December, he was formally installed as Bishop of Mangalore. After becoming Bishop, D'Souza finalised the construction work of the Diocesan Pastoral Centre wherein nine centres are headed by Priests. He strengthened the Canara Organization for Development and Peace (CODP) Institution, and was instrumental in the establishment of

Father Muller Medical College Father Muller Medical College, () located about a kilometre from the National Highway-66 (the Mumbai-Mangalore highway) at Kankanady in Mangalore, is a religious minority educational institution forming a part of the Father Muller Charitable ...

; inaugurating its opening in 1999. He is currently the Chairman of Family Living Commission of Central Council of Bishops of India. D'Souza also spearheaded the opening of many other colleges, High schools and Primary schools. He developed and initiated a "Ten Point Program" to be followed in diocese masses, regardless of class, creed or religious affiliation. * Initiating and developing a program to identify suitable persons to spread Roman Catholicism and instill piety. * The ward-wise liturgical preparation in parishes. * Building a voluntary group of people to preach and practice Christian principles. * Strengthening unity among Christians and initiating inter-religious dialogue. * Minority Christian movement. * Strengthening Women's Associations. * Providing basic necessities to underprivileged people. * Building Resource Groups at the Ward and Parish level. * Creation of Christ-centered families. * Strengthening youths to follow in the path of Christ. D'Souza organised the World Konkani Conference and the All India Bishops Conference in Mangalore. He translated the Bible into Konkani in a mini-pocket form. He has made strenuous efforts into propagating

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

in Mangalore, as well as promoting communal harmony among the local populace.

Citations

References

External links

Bishop Aloysius Paul D'Souza's profile
at Catholic-hierarchy.org * ,

Udayavani ''Udayavani'' ("Morning Voice" in Kannada) is a Kannada daily newspaper with editions from Manipal, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hubballi, Davanagere and Gulbarga. Launched in January 1970 by Mohandas Pai and T. Satish U Pai, Udayavani with a combined ci ...