In the Footsteps of the Shepherd
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November 24th 2007 was a really great day for the Roman Catholic Church in India as well as Goa. On this day in the Vatican City His Holiness Pope Benedict-XVI elevated 22 new Archbishops from all around the world to the rank of a Cardinal which is the highest rank in the church next to the Pope. Among those elevated was Archbishop Oswald Gracias the Archbishop of the Diocese of Mumbai. Archbishop Gracias is indeed of Goan origin from the village of Orlim. After Cardinal Valerian Gracias and Cardinal Ivan Dias he is the third Goan to become a cardinal. Soon after his elevation to the rank of a cardinal I had an opportunity to meet Cardinal Oswald Gracias on December 15th soon after he returned from Rome. I along with a group of youngsters from the Parish group of our Lady of Perpetual health church, Tadiwala road in Poona had gone to Mumbai to attend an ordination ceremony. One of the two brothers being ordained was Brother Kimrold D’mello who was our parish youth group animator. The ordination took place at Don Bosco’s church in Matunga, Mumbai. And the main celebrant for this ceremony was Cardinal Gracias. Infact we were pleased to know that this was the first ordination he was administering after becoming a cardinal. After the ceremony was over we all waited for a small dinner organized in the parish hall. Just about when our turn came for dinner we were taken by surprise as cardinal Gracias accompanied by his secretary Father Bartov Menezes joined us for dinner. Since the members our youth group were closest to him by distancewe approached him to Kiss his ring. Then we continued with our dinner. Once we were complete with our dinner we were just walking around when we were surprised with the sight we saw. Despite his dinner not yet complete Cardinal Gracias could be seen standing besides his dinner table talking to people and blessing them. I taught to my self “How humble of him to do so”. Soon two of my friends, Derek Saldanha and Keith Silveira and Myself approached him and he was really happy to meet us youngsters. He spoke a lot to us. He asked me where I am from and he was very happy when I told him that I am from Goa. The Next thing He asked me is “From where In Goa are you?” I just said “Your Eminence I come from a small village called St.Estevam near Old Goa”. Hearing this he seemed even happier. He said happily “Oh, I know very well about St.Estevam, I have been there, it is a really beautiful village known for intellectual people”. We spoke a lot. Among things we asked him was about his recent trip to Rome and the health of other Cardinals. I asked him about another recently elevated Cardinal named Emmanuel Delly from Iraq. He told me that he was his good friend and that they stayed together in Rome. He also told me a lot about Cardinal Stanislaus Dziwisz from Poland who was a good friend of Pope John Paul –II. Later as the whole group conversed with him I recall a wonderful incident which occurred which convinced me that for Cardinal Gracias Faith and Service to the community stood above tradition. In our Group we were arguing weather kissing the Cardinals ring gives an indulgence of 50 days. So I asked him” Your Eminence is it true that kissing your ring gives a plenary indulgence of 50 days”. At that he laughed and just said. “I really do not know. The Pope gave me this ring so that I serve the people”. Really amazing. After meeting the cardinal we realized what a wonderful experience it had been. Above all we understood what a man of Faith and Service the cardinal was. Above all we admired his Humility. Later that Night as Keith, Derek and me traveled from Matunga to Bandra we could not resist talking about the wonderful experience we had which we would truly remember for years to come. God Bless you Cardinal Gracias-We pray for you as you lead the Catholic Church in India. |
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