Venerable Agnelo de
Souza was the sixth child of his parents, born in a picturesque village of
Anjuna on January 21, 1869. His parents, Miguel and Simphorosa were devout
Catholics and saw that their children grew up in the ways of faith and good
morals. Ven Agnelo, a saintly member of the Society of Pilar, was a preacher of
God’s Word and preached missions, retreats in most of the Churches of Goa. He
passed away at dawn of November 20, 1927.
He was a normal boy but with a serious bent of mind.
Prayerfulness and austerity, the hallmark of his childhood, grew in intensity
and in depth, with the passing of years. Agnelo’s practice of perfect
detachment from all worldly possessions and honours is said to have been
influenced by the poverty and detachment of St Francis of Assisi, the founder
of the Franciscan (Capuchin) missionaries, who according to historians,
preached the Gospel of Jesus to the people of North Goa. This was also evident
from the pride of place given to the image of St Francis of Assisi in the oratory
of the Souza family.
Agnelo had shown a
tendency to an ascetic life right from his childhood. Although he came from a
family that could provide him the comforts of life, he chose to live an austere
life, even to the extent of depriving himself of his common needs. He was a
balanced young man of mortification and self-denial.
His inclination
towards a life of detachment led him to join the Society of Pilar. He made his
first profession of the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience on May 22,
1898.
These vows are
considered as pathways to practicing detachment. Chastity allows one to
manifest one’s total love and dedication to God with an undivided heart. It is
opening oneself to love and serve beyond attachments. Poverty is taking on a
lifestyle that is poor in reality and in spirit with a sense of detachment from
earthly riches. Material resources are understood as necessary means of
livelihood but never as an end in themselves. Obedience is about being
available and detached from purely personal desires. It is surrendering to the
will of God out of love. Living these vows enabled Agnelo in practicing
detachment by focusing his entire being on God and His people.
Agnelo chose not to
make any dilution in the practice of the vows, but adopted a life of perfection
in a rigorous way. His poverty was voluntary and wholehearted. On his way to
the seminary or back from it, he would go barefoot so that he would save on the
wear and tear of shoes. A person who was surprised to see young Agnelo dressed
poorly in his youth, asked him why he had no better clothes and the answer came
in all simplicity and sincerity: “It is not the clothing that honours the man,
but his virtue.” His detachment to material goods was very well observed in
places of his posting.
Agnelo lived as poor
as possible. His room had the least required furnishings.
However, he always
kept his things and clothing neat and clean. His room had the bare minimum - a
simple bed with wooden planks, without a quilt and a couple of chairs for those
who came to him. The chair that he used had a coarse cloth for sitting.
Agnelo also strived
to study about the virtue of chastity and made efforts to avoid everything that
could lead towards the vice against this virtue. Agnelo also practiced
obedience in a truly heroic way. From childhood, Agnelo cultivated the attitude
of obedience to his elders. His sister, Adamantina, wrote that Agnelo was the
most obedient among her brothers, to the extent of trying to guess what the
parents wanted him to do.
Agnelo lived a simple
and contented life. He was satisfied with whatever he had and never complained.
Ever satisfied with very little, there was no way of convincing him to have a
few normal comforts. Padre Agnelo emptied himself in order to joyfully give
himself for others.
Detachment implies
selflessly loving and serving the Divine in every person and other beings
without any sense of bondage or emotional attachment. It is living like a lotus
in the pond, unaffected by the mud or movement of the water. Detachment is a
mind-set of letting go and living in the “here and now”. Padre Agnelo lived in
the world but was unattached to it just like the lotus flower. He had a mind
that was open to everything, but not attached to anything.
This year is the 96th
Death Anniversary of Venerable Agnelo D’Souza (1869-1927), a priest son of the
Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, a saintly member of the Society of Pilar, whose
canonization process is going on in Rome. Let us flock to the Pilar hillock and
storm the heavens for the early beatification of our brother Venerable Fr
Agnelo De Souza.
(The writer is a member of the Society of Pilar. He has a Doctorate in Clinical Counselling Psychology from the Philippines and is the editor of Fr Agnel’s Call, a monthly mission and youth magazine.)
Venerable Agnelo’s 96th death anniversary
This year, the commemoration of the 96th Death anniversary of Venerable Agnelo de Souza will be celebrated in Pilar on November 20. The main theme of the celebration is ‘Walking together, in the footsteps of Ven Agnelo to our sanctification’. His Eminence Filipe Neri Cardinal Ferrao, Archbishop Patriarch of Goa and Daman will preside over the solemn mass at 9.30 am. The Mass timings on November 20 are 5.30 am; 6.45 am, 8 am and 11.30 am; 4 pm, 5.15 pm and 6.15 pm (English).
The novenas will be held from November 11 – 19. The timings for
the Novena masses are 5.30 am, 6.45 am, 8 am, 9.15 am and 10.30 am, 4 pm, 5.15
pm and 6.15 pm (English). Special mass for the sick will be held on November 17
at 10.30 am. There will be a Night Vigil on November 17 from 9.30 pm to 5 am
the next day. Each day of the Novena is dedicated to praying for a specific
purpose. November 11 is dedicated to the Youth; November 12 is dedicated to the
Family; November 13 is dedicated to the Priests and Religious; November 14 is dedicated
to Children and Vocation; November 15 is dedicated to Civil leaders; November
16 is dedicated to the Mission; November 17 is dedicated to the Sick; November
18 is dedicated to the Environment; November 19 is dedicated to the Laity.
Tamil Mass will be held on November 12 at
11.30 am in the pandal; Hindi Mass will be held on November 19 at 11.30 am in
the Seminary Chapel; Malayalam Mass will be held on November 19 at 11.30 am in
the pandal. Every mass will be followed by a Novena prayer and prayer over the
sick. Priests will be available for confessions and counselling. All masses
will be streamed on YouTube Society of Pilar India, and also telecasted on Goan
channels