Illustrious Bhenddekar - With Special Focus on Leandro Da Rosa - Priest Of Love
By Jackson Dias
The idyllic village of Santo Estevam, the island called Ilha Verde (Green Island), has been the cradle of distinguished achievement in various fields and has produced several eminent personalities in diverse fields of endeavour. It may be sheer coincidence that the first Goan Chief Justice of the Goa High Court, Dr. Jose Maria De Remedios (1825) and the last of them, Dr. Alvaro Dias (1962), were both from Santo Estevam. One has to mention a few of them for illustration: the famous artist, Angelo da Fonseca, known as the father of Indian art; General Dr. Miguel Caetano Dias and his sons, Lt. Col. Victor Dias, and Dr. Antonio Dias, the first two becoming Directors of Goa Health Services and a third a medical scientist of renown; Mr. Eufemiano Dias, ex-Director, Goa PWD and eminent architect; Venith Alphonso, the documentary film-maker of "Bapuji" fame; Fr. Crescencio Monteiro, the eminent linguist and professor in the seminary; Dr. Bailon De Sa, ex-UN advisor, ex-Vice Chancellor of a University in Ghana and President, Instituto Menezes Braganza. Also worth mentioning are Dr. Olivinho Gomes, Head of Konkani Department, Goa University; our great eminent scientists Dr. Vincente Pereira and Dr. Ehrlic De Sa, and social activist Fr. Bismarck Dias who is presently very much active in his field.
But the most remembered and revered of them all is, no doubt, Fr. Antonio Leandro Da Rosa, affectionately known to the general public as “Padre-Mestre” (The Master) respectfully called by all who knew him closely in his manifold and original endeavours.
He was a priest the holiest and most dedicated to his sacred mission, a man with the courage of his conviction, fearless in his proper and upright action, dedicated fervently to catechism and formation of the young, shunning honours and favours that were sought to be bestowed on him, toiling indefatigably in the vineyard of the Lord! His bust erected by his grateful fellow villagers in front of the Chapel of St. Anne in Manguerial ward of Santo Estevam, his native village, attests to the love and high regard in which he has always been held.
He was born in Santo Estevam on 23rd April, 1885 in a spacious house that opens out on green paddy fields and embankment protecting the island from the onslaught of the monsoons when the Mandovi goes in spate. In summer with paddy fields dry to their beds the house looks on a natural amphitheatre called the “Tollem Xet”, traditionally a football playground before the present “Casa do Povo” could be built and the field in front of it ceded to it by the Comunidade in 1961 for a playground.
I have vague yet impressionistic memories of the saintly priest in his senility then trudging along the nooks and corners of his native village when I was a little child tendering advice and conveying words of wisdom on every problem that was presented to him. His presence was highly respected yet dreaded for the strict disciplinarian that he was for anything found amiss did not escape his eagle’s gaze. His conversations with one and all in his wanderings around the village bristled with humour as he kept everyone entertained and instructed at the same time.
In the Chapel of St. Anne where he presided and preached in the last years of his life he would not hesitate to point out anything untoward in the dress and deportment of any parishioner without distinction including his sister-in-law and near and dear ones thereby giving the lie to the Konkani saying that the sermon of the priest is not meant for his sister-in-law’s consumption, to the smirking delight of the sensitive congregation! For he was always strict in moral matters to the point of puritanism for which he was once the victim of violence on the part of a high-ranking Portuguese officer when he was the Rector of Panjim Church which insult he suffered humbly by offering the other cheek as Christ had commanded.
This beacon of a priest was a fine example to his fellowmen and displayed right from his early days uncommon qualities of intelligence and kindness of heart combined with a studied unconcern for worldly matters. Disclosing his vocation for the priesthood he went on to study at the Seminary at Rachol, where he proved his superior mettle by passing his course with honours and two “Accessits” to his credit. His theology course was also passed with flying colours. He later on passed his examination of “Bachelor in Theology”, a rare distinction in 1909. He was immediately selected by his superiors to become a lecturer in the seminary in 1910. He taught there various courses being very much appreciated by and popular with the students for twelve long years from 1910 to 1922.
It was at this time that the Rector of Panjim Church Fr. Joao Baptista de Souza, gave up his prestigious post to take up lectureship in the Lyceum. The Church authorities were on the look-out for a suitable candidate who would combine in him qualities of superior intelligence and high virtue to fill up the vacancy. The choice fell naturally on Fr. Leandre da Rosa. He was asked to leave the Seminary to take up the post of the principal church of Goa that was Panjim’s. Fr. Rosa consented very reluctantly to leave his beloved Seminary and came to Panjim to assume the highly prestigious charge. Here he had ample opportunities to demonstrate his capacities of organiser, fervently devout pastor and above all that of a master catechist which all he labelled humbly as God-given gifts, when praised for these qualities.
However he was most famous as a master catechist. People still remember how Fr. Rosa used to organise classes on a mass scale wherever he went, in the course of his missionary journeys down the length and breadth of Goa, on open playgrounds, calling children as well as adults, men and women, to join in at prayer and instruction, which took place rather spontaneously. Even non-Christians beckoned to his affectionate invitations for lessons in good manners and to listen to his sweet and practical advice on every personal matter of whatever magnitude it would be. For these extraordinary qualities of his, the Archbishop had chosen him to impart education and Christian doctrine to the tribals who had gone astray from their religion in some places in Goa.
He undertook a pilgrimage at his own expense to Lourdes, Rome and the Holy Land and was received in private audience by his Holiness the Pope. From there he brought a lot of mementos and medals when he distributed freely to his parishioners and whoever approached him for the purpose. He distributed them particularly to the sick who were in hospitals, and prisoners languishing in jail whom he regularly visited to console and assist in their spiritual and material needs as well especially on festive occasions carrying feast sweets with him for distribution.
It was Fr. Rosa who was instrumental in installing the monument to Christ the King on the top of the hillock in Santo Estevam, the most prominent landmark of the island today, commanding a breathtakingly beautiful view of the surrounding panorama of green hills, valleys, sheets and patches of water amidst the greenery. Fr. Rosa employed voluntary labour of all villagers in a manner which today would be called “shramdan”, for doing his difficult job, a labour of love for all who participated in it. This was the first monument of its kind then attesting to the consecration of the people of the island to Christ the King, perhaps the first to be done in India as a mark of faith and dedication to the Saviour.
The Church of Santo Estevam, one of the oldest in Goa, had been ravaged by the Maratha Sambhaji’s forces during their invasion of the island in 1683. Fr. Rosa helped the then parish-priest of the village to repair the Church and gave it an entirely new and better-looking complexion. People were wonderstruck to see the priest coming daily from Panjim and attending to the work of the repairs and returning to Panjim that was his parish. Sometimes he did not have even the time to say Mass and in that event he would receive holy communion along with the fellowmen and rush to catch the launch in time to be in Panjim, for there were no vehicles plying from the village at that time.
If Fr. Rosa had wished, he could have occupied the highest positions in the Archdiocesan hierarchy. But he disdained honours which a lesser person would have succumbed to. He retired finally to the confines of his beloved island, to carry on his catechetical mission in a spirit of humility and compassion for the poor and the destitute in and around his village, Bicholim taluka etc. He has often been compared to St. Francis Xavier, the Apostle of the Indies, as a catechist, for apart from the saint, there has been no catechist other than Fr. Rosa of his stature in the annals of Goan Church history.
It was this reverence and respectful affection that the Padre-Mestre was held in, that brought crowds of mourners to his residence in Santo Estevam, when he passed away on 17th April 1957, people coming from all parts of Goa and of course from his beloved Zunvem, praying and asking for his intercession. He was covered and carpeted with flowers and wreaths all the way in a mammoth funeral cortege that would honour princes. He was laid to rest in the cemetery in his home village which he loved so dearly above all. Let his life be a beacon to the clergy of today!
The idyllic village of Santo Estevam, the island called Ilha Verde (Green Island), has been the cradle of distinguished achievement in various fields and has produced several eminent personalities in diverse fields of endeavour. It may be sheer coincidence that the first Goan Chief Justice of the Goa High Court, Dr. Jose Maria De Remedios (1825) and the last of them, Dr. Alvaro Dias (1962), were both from Santo Estevam. One has to mention a few of them for illustration: the famous artist, Angelo da Fonseca, known as the father of Indian art; General Dr. Miguel Caetano Dias and his sons, Lt. Col. Victor Dias, and Dr. Antonio Dias, the first two becoming Directors of Goa Health Services and a third a medical scientist of renown; Mr. Eufemiano Dias, ex-Director, Goa PWD and eminent architect; Venith Alphonso, the documentary film-maker of "Bapuji" fame; Fr. Crescencio Monteiro, the eminent linguist and professor in the seminary; Dr. Bailon De Sa, ex-UN advisor, ex-Vice Chancellor of a University in Ghana and President, Instituto Menezes Braganza. Also worth mentioning are Dr. Olivinho Gomes, Head of Konkani Department, Goa University; our great eminent scientists Dr. Vincente Pereira and Dr. Ehrlic De Sa, and social activist Fr. Bismarck Dias who is presently very much active in his field.
But the most remembered and revered of them all is, no doubt, Fr. Antonio Leandro Da Rosa, affectionately known to the general public as “Padre-Mestre” (The Master) respectfully called by all who knew him closely in his manifold and original endeavours.
He was a priest the holiest and most dedicated to his sacred mission, a man with the courage of his conviction, fearless in his proper and upright action, dedicated fervently to catechism and formation of the young, shunning honours and favours that were sought to be bestowed on him, toiling indefatigably in the vineyard of the Lord! His bust erected by his grateful fellow villagers in front of the Chapel of St. Anne in Manguerial ward of Santo Estevam, his native village, attests to the love and high regard in which he has always been held.
He was born in Santo Estevam on 23rd April, 1885 in a spacious house that opens out on green paddy fields and embankment protecting the island from the onslaught of the monsoons when the Mandovi goes in spate. In summer with paddy fields dry to their beds the house looks on a natural amphitheatre called the “Tollem Xet”, traditionally a football playground before the present “Casa do Povo” could be built and the field in front of it ceded to it by the Comunidade in 1961 for a playground.
I have vague yet impressionistic memories of the saintly priest in his senility then trudging along the nooks and corners of his native village when I was a little child tendering advice and conveying words of wisdom on every problem that was presented to him. His presence was highly respected yet dreaded for the strict disciplinarian that he was for anything found amiss did not escape his eagle’s gaze. His conversations with one and all in his wanderings around the village bristled with humour as he kept everyone entertained and instructed at the same time.
In the Chapel of St. Anne where he presided and preached in the last years of his life he would not hesitate to point out anything untoward in the dress and deportment of any parishioner without distinction including his sister-in-law and near and dear ones thereby giving the lie to the Konkani saying that the sermon of the priest is not meant for his sister-in-law’s consumption, to the smirking delight of the sensitive congregation! For he was always strict in moral matters to the point of puritanism for which he was once the victim of violence on the part of a high-ranking Portuguese officer when he was the Rector of Panjim Church which insult he suffered humbly by offering the other cheek as Christ had commanded.
This beacon of a priest was a fine example to his fellowmen and displayed right from his early days uncommon qualities of intelligence and kindness of heart combined with a studied unconcern for worldly matters. Disclosing his vocation for the priesthood he went on to study at the Seminary at Rachol, where he proved his superior mettle by passing his course with honours and two “Accessits” to his credit. His theology course was also passed with flying colours. He later on passed his examination of “Bachelor in Theology”, a rare distinction in 1909. He was immediately selected by his superiors to become a lecturer in the seminary in 1910. He taught there various courses being very much appreciated by and popular with the students for twelve long years from 1910 to 1922.
It was at this time that the Rector of Panjim Church Fr. Joao Baptista de Souza, gave up his prestigious post to take up lectureship in the Lyceum. The Church authorities were on the look-out for a suitable candidate who would combine in him qualities of superior intelligence and high virtue to fill up the vacancy. The choice fell naturally on Fr. Leandre da Rosa. He was asked to leave the Seminary to take up the post of the principal church of Goa that was Panjim’s. Fr. Rosa consented very reluctantly to leave his beloved Seminary and came to Panjim to assume the highly prestigious charge. Here he had ample opportunities to demonstrate his capacities of organiser, fervently devout pastor and above all that of a master catechist which all he labelled humbly as God-given gifts, when praised for these qualities.
However he was most famous as a master catechist. People still remember how Fr. Rosa used to organise classes on a mass scale wherever he went, in the course of his missionary journeys down the length and breadth of Goa, on open playgrounds, calling children as well as adults, men and women, to join in at prayer and instruction, which took place rather spontaneously. Even non-Christians beckoned to his affectionate invitations for lessons in good manners and to listen to his sweet and practical advice on every personal matter of whatever magnitude it would be. For these extraordinary qualities of his, the Archbishop had chosen him to impart education and Christian doctrine to the tribals who had gone astray from their religion in some places in Goa.
He undertook a pilgrimage at his own expense to Lourdes, Rome and the Holy Land and was received in private audience by his Holiness the Pope. From there he brought a lot of mementos and medals when he distributed freely to his parishioners and whoever approached him for the purpose. He distributed them particularly to the sick who were in hospitals, and prisoners languishing in jail whom he regularly visited to console and assist in their spiritual and material needs as well especially on festive occasions carrying feast sweets with him for distribution.
It was Fr. Rosa who was instrumental in installing the monument to Christ the King on the top of the hillock in Santo Estevam, the most prominent landmark of the island today, commanding a breathtakingly beautiful view of the surrounding panorama of green hills, valleys, sheets and patches of water amidst the greenery. Fr. Rosa employed voluntary labour of all villagers in a manner which today would be called “shramdan”, for doing his difficult job, a labour of love for all who participated in it. This was the first monument of its kind then attesting to the consecration of the people of the island to Christ the King, perhaps the first to be done in India as a mark of faith and dedication to the Saviour.
The Church of Santo Estevam, one of the oldest in Goa, had been ravaged by the Maratha Sambhaji’s forces during their invasion of the island in 1683. Fr. Rosa helped the then parish-priest of the village to repair the Church and gave it an entirely new and better-looking complexion. People were wonderstruck to see the priest coming daily from Panjim and attending to the work of the repairs and returning to Panjim that was his parish. Sometimes he did not have even the time to say Mass and in that event he would receive holy communion along with the fellowmen and rush to catch the launch in time to be in Panjim, for there were no vehicles plying from the village at that time.
If Fr. Rosa had wished, he could have occupied the highest positions in the Archdiocesan hierarchy. But he disdained honours which a lesser person would have succumbed to. He retired finally to the confines of his beloved island, to carry on his catechetical mission in a spirit of humility and compassion for the poor and the destitute in and around his village, Bicholim taluka etc. He has often been compared to St. Francis Xavier, the Apostle of the Indies, as a catechist, for apart from the saint, there has been no catechist other than Fr. Rosa of his stature in the annals of Goan Church history.
It was this reverence and respectful affection that the Padre-Mestre was held in, that brought crowds of mourners to his residence in Santo Estevam, when he passed away on 17th April 1957, people coming from all parts of Goa and of course from his beloved Zunvem, praying and asking for his intercession. He was covered and carpeted with flowers and wreaths all the way in a mammoth funeral cortege that would honour princes. He was laid to rest in the cemetery in his home village which he loved so dearly above all. Let his life be a beacon to the clergy of today!
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