PANAJI
The Jesuit Superior General Fr Arturo Sosa on Saturday appointed Goan Jesuit, Fr Agnelo Mascarenhas, presently Superior and Coordinator of Youth Ministry at Pedro Arrupe Institute in Raia, as the new Provincial of the Pune Province.
Hailing from Sarzora, Fr Mascarenhas was born on December 8, 1965, and did his schooling at Loyola High School, Margao, and joined the Jesuit novitiate at Sadhanalaya, Nashik, in 1985.
He did his Juniorate at Vinayalaya, Mumbai, undergraduate studies at RPD, Belagavi, and his philosophical and theological studies at JDV, Pune. Fr Mascarenhas was ordained a priest in 1998 and was sent to study at Visvadeep, Bengaluru.
With a Masters in Theology (Youth Ministry), Agnelo set about working with youth.
He was missioned as Director of the Pre-Novitiate at Loyola Hall, Miramar, as the Province Coordinator of Formation, and as Director of the Lights of the World Movement.
Fr Mascarenhas did his tertianship at Shembaganur in 2005 and professed his final vows near the relics of our Goencho Saib (St Francis Xavier) at the Bom Jesus Basilica in 2006.
From 2006-2011, he served as Socius to the Goa Provincial, then went on to work as Vice-Secretary of the Society of Jesus at the General Curia in Rome from 2012 until he returned to the Province in 2019.
He was appointed as Superior at the Pedro Arrupe Institute, Raia, on July 1, 2019, and began his mission of coordinating various Ignatian Spirituality, lay leadership, and youth programmes along with Jesuits and other partners in mission.
As Provincial, Fr Mascarenhas will now head about 85 Jesuits in the Pune Province.
Fr Mascarenhas has a sister and two brothers in Goa and incidentally, his sister-in-law, Sabita Mascarenhas, is the sarpanch of Sarzora.
