Fr. John Berchmans Nag left for his eternal abode on September 10th, early in the morning, and in the evening he was buried in the cemetery of Jesu Bhavan, Mango. He was born on 31st March 1948 at Kamanta Khunti, district Khunti, Jharkhand. He completed his degree studies before joining the Society of Jesus, from Birsa College, Khunti, in 1972. After working for some years in one of our schools in Dhanbad, he joined the Jesuits in 1984. Most of his companions in the province fondly called him ‘Guru’ as he was a teacher before joining. He was ordained in 1996 at Khunti, and pronounced his Final Vows in 2010.
He worked in various ministries in the province. During his 24 years of priestly life, the longest service was at Jisu Jaher, Tundi for two terms – pastoral ministry (1998 – 2000) and teacher (2002 – 2007) in the school. In two communities he rendered his service for three years each – Loyola Bhavan, Bhubaneswar and Divya Bharti, Chaibasa. At all the other places, he worked for a year or two as Teacher, Minister, Sub-Minister, Farm-in-charge, Music teacher, Headmaster etc. He enjoyed doing all sorts of work given to him.
He was passionate about music, played the harmonium and flute. He used to write lyrics and compose music too. He lived a very simple life, truly living the vow of poverty. Other most noticeable qualities of Fr. John, were his availability and adaptability. He had been assigned to almost every area of the province. Language, culture and geographical areas were no barrier to him. He loved the people wherever he worked and was very effective in his ministry. For the last few years, he had been suffering from high BP, diabeties and kidney problems. May his soul rest in Peace.
- Gyan P. Kujur, SJ
