Fr Edward D’ Souza was a zealous, dedicated Jesuit priest who opted to work in the newly-established Jamshedpur mission. Born in Parel, Mumbai in a deeply religious family on 29 September 1936, he entered the Society of Jesus at Vinayalaya, Mumbai on 30 July 1956. After completing his priestly studies, he was ordained a priest on 15 March 1969 in Mumbai. After a few years of pastoral experience, Fr Edward was sent to Manila to do his Master’s degree in Counselling. On his return from Manila, he was assigned to different institutions as Director, Counsellor, Teacher and Asst. Parish Priest.
Fr Eddie was a man of deep faith in Christ. He was regular for his community prayers, daily Eucharist and other community activities. He followed a strict, regular schedule, carrying out his responsibilities with promptness, deep commitment, and meticulous care. As a teacher of English, he was fondly remembered and loved by his former students for he was good at teaching English and was ready and willing to guide them. He taught English for about three years to the minor seminarians of St Paul’s Minor Seminary, Padanpur, Odisha. He would take extra effort to improve their diction and language. Although he was a man of few words, he was warmly welcomed by the scholastics whenever they visited the community.
Fr Eddie took a keen interest in the apostolic works of the Province. Although he was confined to his room most of the time, he was interested in the development of the province’s apostolic works. He neither desired the limelight nor the admiration of people.Whatever he did, he did with passion and trust in the Lord. He was confident that the Lord who called him would assist him to complete the task entrusted to him. He was a man of deep faith and trust in God.
Since 2018 he stayed at Guidera Jesuit Residence, Jamshedpur praying for the Church and the Society. He had a fall a few months ago. After the fall he was bedridden and went through a lot of pain. However, he accepted the suffering without any complaints and surrendered himself to God’s will. After months of suffering, Fr Eddie passed away peacefully on 4 August 2023, firm in his belief and hope that the Risen Christ will grant him the reward he deserves.
– Fr Kuruvilla V. SJ
