Goans remember pioneering Jesuit pastor

Farther George D’Sa founded the youth formation movement in Goa.

Panaji:  The birth centenary of Jesuit Father George D’Sa, who pioneered several spiritual activities in the region, was celebrated on Tuesday with a thanksgiving mass at Bom Jesus Basilica, Old Goa.

The decennial veneration of the relics of St Francis Xavier began while he was the rector of Bom Jesus Basilica.

Fr D'Sa founded the youth formation movement in Goa. His unique tenet, 'You are the light of the world, let your light shine', has ignited thousands of lives for over fifty years.

The golden jubilee of the youth formation movement is celebrated every Sunday through 2016. Students meet batch-wise at 10.15am at Bom Jesus Basilica to thankfully remember Fr D'Sa and pledge themselves "to shine like bright stars in this world". The follow-up of this experience at the higher secondary level is catered to by the 'Lights of the World Movement'.

Fr. D'Sa was born on April 19, 1916 at Anjuna, Bardez. He was ordained a Jesuit priest on November 21, 1950.In 1953, D'Sa was chaplain for a year at Yerwada Jail, Pune. For the next ten years, from 1954-64, he worked as parish priest of the Mount Carmel parish and Fatima cathedral, and as rector of St Paul's High School, Belgaum (now Belagavi). He was a polyglot, compassionate and had an empathic presence.

On June 1, 1964, Fr D'Sa was sent as rector of Bom Jesus Basilica. He organized two expositions of the relics of St Francis Xavier (1964, 1974) which triggered off the decennial veneration.

In 1966, he founded and directed 'Youth Formation Retreats' for SSC students. For 28 years, he evoked a 'holistic God experience' in every retreat.

In 1967, Fr D'Sa began the second novena to St Francis Xavier, called the 'novena of grace'.

His initiatives didn't end with him, but are carried on through the Jesuits and their collaborators. Thousands of people and students have experienced hope, support and clarity about their future and these programmes have left an indelible mark in their lives.

On July 24, 1994, Fr D'Sa passed away. He had been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. His last wish was, "I want my funeral to be simple. Do not toll the church bells and tell all people attending my funeral to shower flowers in my grave."

Source: Times of India