In this series, we will feature priests who have served in the Archdiocese of Bombay - familiar to some, strangers to others. They have walked with us from birth to the grave: baptized us, married us, blessed us, admonished us, laughed with us, cried with us and helped us. Some of our retired priests still serve in parishes, others may be missing from parish life; this comes to let you know that though retired they are ‘not out’! Come meet the person behind the name.
Fr Evan D’Souza
Birth - 15-08-1943 | Ordination - 20-12-1969
“If you wish to be My disciple, love one another as I have loved you!” is the motto, inspired by Scripture and a dash of creativity, that Fr Evan D’Souza lives by. A priest in residence at the Church of Our Lady of Egypt, Kalina, Fr Evan, extends us a warm welcome; while he strides about the premises bare feet. It is hard to miss the chirpy greetings by his feathered friends - The Cockatoos - en route to his Cabin. Fr Evan’s offer of refreshments, at first, though met with hesitance by us, evokes a witty reply - “You won’t turn crack if you have some Krack-Jack biscuits.” His casual approach set the wheels rolling for the lighted-hearted conversation that ensued.
A pious family of priests and nuns and a role model in the late Fr Basil Pinto proved conducive to Fr Evan’s call to the priesthood. He exclaims: “For me, joining the priesthood was out of the blue”, though he affirms that God’s grace was constantly at work while journeying through his priestly formation. As a fresh-faced teen of sixteen, Fr Evan joined the Seminary, acclimatising to a new life with peers he enjoyed interacting with.
On completion of formal collegiate education in teaching, Fr Evan served as Principal at various schools in the Archdiocese, one of them being St Andrew’s School and College, Bandra, over 25 years ago. Here, he strived towards the holistic development of students with his pilot Project, which focused on sports and extracurricular activities; “We did away with PT and bought 45 hockey sticks and 15 footballs. These helped the boys develop skills, they were selected for the district level sport.”
A priest for half a century, Fr Evan has had the opportunity of meeting people from all walks of life. He grins warmly, “It's God's grace that I can interact with the smallest kid to the senior-most parishioner.” Fr Evan falls back on his personal favourites - John 15:12 and John 15:15-16 - to help one relate to the priestly journey. He clarifies, “A priest is not for his own, but to serve others.”
Fr Evan concludes on a similar note with a message for priests in formation, “You have to have a healthy attitude, a pastoral outlook. Be true to yourself!" #RetiredNotOut