To
speak of a friar is always a task, which is a little bit difficult and still
difficult is when you have to write something about him when he dies. There are
many inspiring things about him and one just doesn’t know what to pen down. It
is not negative that wells up in your heart and mind but the positive
experiences of that friar. Every time I think of Fr. Santosh, what comes to my
mind nothing but that smiling and loving face? What reminds me most as a young friar who
worked in Maharashtra Capuchin Province is the prolific writer and very deep
thinker. What captivated his audience is ability to speak and communicate the
message to the hearts. Fr. Santosh was a well-known friar for being a good orator in English,
Kannada and Konkani. He tired also to master Marathi and Hindi, he could
communicate with the faithful while preaching in the Church in a very simple yet strong way. He had a lot of
similarities with very many known preachers in India. He was well equipped with
the knowledge, which was needed, for his ministry. He was trained in
Philippians as a counselor and he attracted many people to him with his
personality as well as his skills to handle the problem of the client.
I
had known Father Santosh from 1979 when I joined the Capuchin Order. I was in
Fatima Friary for Vocation camp, which lasted about one month. It was come and
see program and I very well remember he visited Fatima Friary for some work and
later on as a member for a short period. What made impression on me was his
sociability and with ease he could relate and dialogue with people. When I attended
his Mass for the first time it was a great spiritual experience. His homily
with lots of thoughts and inspiration gave him a lot of material to ponder on
my vocation as a Capuchin. Later on I met him during my formation period very
often especially during summer vacations. As a Philosopher I would come down to
Mumbai for my University examinations and I would spend time with him in Mandvi
where he was the pastor of a small flock
of 150 families. He would give me chances to preach in Marathi and English on
Sundays and Lenten days. I learnt a lot from him about the basic skills of
preaching and even singing because he was a good singer. Some people lovingly called him as “Disco as
he would sing some songs during the preaching.
Then I met him in Osmanabad where he began an English Medium school by
renting out a house. He struggled a lot initially but with a strong will power
and hard work everything got going for him. Today the school is about 27 years
old and doing well in Osmanabad. He was a pioneer with a aim and goal. I would
go to Latur and Osmanabad for Christmas and Easter Ministry from Mysore. It was
a great fun to be with him. He would organize these two events very well. The
Catholic families in that region were very few but there were lot of medical
and engineering colleges in which we had Catholic and non-Catholic students. He
would personally invite them for the Sunday Mass as well as for Christmas and
Easter. He was popular among these students too. He took personal care of these
students who came from different corners of India. After my Ordination, I was
appointed in the same region and close to Osmanabad, a place called Ambajogai.
He had begun an English medium school with a lot of problems of the land, which
was under litigation. He would support and encourage me by visiting regularly. He was really a source of encouragement and
inspiration during those years of tensions.
After
which I did maintain relationship with him whenever I visited Mangalore. The
last time I met was in the month of January 2016 while conducting visitation of
Karnataka Province. He had some health issues but he had become
non-communicative. We spoke for a long time and at the end he asked me to pray
over him, which I did gladly and willingly. He used all his talents and was
willingly to go anywhere. He worked in North East in one of the seminaries as a
spiritual Father. He also spent one or two years in Potta retreat center where
he guided and animated faithful who came there seeking healing and spiritual
solace.
REV. FR. SANTHOSH
MENEZES OFM CAPUCHIN
(Baptismal
Name: Albert Michael)
BORN: 29/09/1939
VESTED: 30/04/1960
SIMPLE
PROFESSION: 01/05/1961
PERPETUAL
PROFESSION: 01/05/1964
ORDAINED:
17/12/1967
DIED:
15/10/2016
Fr. Santhosh
Menezes OFM Cap., of the Holy Trinity Capuchin Province Karnataka has passed
away this evening at Father Muller’s Hospital, Kankanady at the age of 77
years.
His funeral
will be conducted on Monday 17th October, 2016, at 3. 00 p.m. in St. Fidelis Friary, Monte Mariano Convent
Chapel, Farangipet, Mangalore.
May God grant
him eternal rest.
No comments:
Post a Comment