All of us who knew Fr. Aloysius as a friend will recall his patience, his ability to listen and the many small things he did to make us comfortable. At the end of a hard day, it was nice to have Aloo there, waiting to serve a hot meal and listen to our experiences.
Fr. Aloysius was a man of many talents. He was skilled at cooking, sowing, painting, music, photography, and film appreciation. He was a very obedient Jesuit. At 67, he said ‘Yes’ to go to Talasari. It was tough but in his own inimitable style he taught English and imparted other skills.
After Talasari, Fr Aloysius came to Xavier’s College – a very sick man. After recovering, he took PHV classes, film appreciation sessions and was ever available to celebrate the Eucharist. Every Wednesday he would prepare a special dish, and the amount of energy and love that went into it was remarkable. His attention to detail ensured that all the right ingredients got in; no ‘chalta hai’ attitude for him. I still maintain that his Irish Crème was better than the original!
Through his life Aloo leaves us three messages: a) sing in your own voice. Be who are you are; what God wants you to be; b) be ready to help. He always reached out to assist; c) keep doing what you enjoy doing. Aloo kept up his cooking and baking till the end. In fact, at the moment God called him, he was busy making a cake in honour of the Provincial who was on visitation. He suddenly collapsed. Which of us would not like to go with our boots on?
Fr. Aloysius, thank you for all you have been to us; you continue to remain in our hearts!
- Roy Pereira, SJ
