Fr Kyriel D’Souza sfx
On 10th November 1986, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints of the Catholic Church passed a Decree at Vatican approving the Process on virtues of the Servant of God Fr Agnelo de Souza, which entails the title of VENERABLE. The same Decree says: “The Servant of God, Agnelo Gustavo Adolfo de Souza, priest of the Society of the Missionaries of St.Francis Xavier of Goa, dedicated himself willingly and also wholeheartedly to this arduous and difficult task; at first as ordinary confessor and later on as Spiritual Director, he plunged himself into the formation of the students of the Major Seminary of Rachol in the famous Archdiocese of Goa.... But this diligence went out beyond the Seminary circle whenever he applied himself with prompt and indefatigable care to the apostolate in the service of the people. This he did principally when he exercised the ministry of preaching the Word of God. This led efficaciously to the propagation and increase of the faith in the community of believers.”
William Butler Yeats, an Irish poet, one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature and a Nobel Prize winner in literature says: “Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.” The above quoted words of the Decree make it abundantly clear that Padre Agnel as a confessor, Spiritual Director, preacher of the Word of God and in his indefatigable care to the apostolate in the service of the people was a teacher par excellence for he just did not fill empty vessels with knowledge but set their hearts burning with fire of the love of God which led “efficaciously to the propagation and increase of the faith in the community of believers.” Yes, an excellent teacher is not only the one who forms the students but goes much ahead by transforming the lives of the students.
Henry Adams an American historian and a Professor says: “A good teacher affects eternity, he can never tell where his influence stops.” The title of my article is Padre Agnel - an exemplary and responsible teacher. A great teacher in today’s world is seen as a person who is not only highly knowledgeable but one who has expert communication skills. Fr Agnelo Noronha in his book, FrAgnelo, A Saint for India writes: “Fr Agnelo possessed a human touch, the human approach, the human way of dealing with all sinners whom he touched and converted.”
Another characteristic in a responsible teacher is, passion for the subject matter. Padre Agnel was assiduous in his preparation of the Sermon, Retreat or the Subject that he taught. He prepared with the utmost care. Though he had preached on the same subject matter earlier he would never be overconfident and go to preach or teach without preparation. Here I would like to quote from the book, “A true Man of God - Venerable Fr Agnelo de Souza” by Fr Sergio Mascarenhas, “So much was he concerned about the preparation, that even in sickness he took time to read. One day when he was on bed with fever in Sanvordem, he received the message from his Superior in Pilar to go to preach at Majorda. Unable to read due to the fever, he called the sacristan and asked him to read the relevant portions from his sermon books. The next day the fever had left him and nobody in Majorda ever suspected what had happened.”
Now let me conclude with Padre Agnel’s forte - an exemplary teacher. Agnel was exemplary right from his childhood. Agnel’s villagers asked his mother to allow their children to be with Agnelo and if possible to even spend the night with the family so that their children could learn from the exemplary life of Agnelo. At the Church too, the Parish Priest Fr Domingos Caetano da Silva would put him in charge of a group of boys. He led by example. Agnelo studied in Mapusa and his companion Dr. Teofilo de Sa has testified that Agnelo distinguished among all in piety, in his upright affable and inoffensive character.
Indeed, Padre Agnel, is an exemplary and responsible teacher who continues to inspire all educators.
(Fr Kyriel D’Souza is assistant parish priest at St Anne’s Church at Agonda and former provincial of Goa Province of the Society of Pilar)
