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FR LOUIS MASCARENHAS s.j. (11.09.1904 - 18.11.2000)
When Fr Louis Mascarenhas quietly passed away in the early hours of 18th November 2000, he had spanned 96 years and 69 days of the last century of the second millennium, the longest living Jesuit in India to die on that date. So many generations people in the vicinity of his activities had seen him for so long, moving about steadily with his short stature, serene unchanging bearded mien and twinkling eyes that they unconsciously identified him with a reassuring permanent human institution and were genuinely shocked to hear of his demise.
He was born on 1 1th September 1904 in a genuinely devout Mangalorean family in Mangalore of distinguished parents (Manuel Salvador Mascarenhas and Evelyn Pinto) who not only gave their one son and one daughter to the Church but even gave their ancestral property to it. Having completed his undergraduate studies in St Aloysius College, Mangalore, in June 1926 he decided to join the Calicut Jesuit Mission that ran the College.
He began his training as a Jesuit with two years of Novitiate in the Sacred Heart College, Shembaganur in South India. He spent further three more years there and completed the prescribed philosophical course. He then finished his postgraduate studies in economics at St Joseph's Colleae, Trichy.
His training as a Jesuit was completed with his ordination to the priesthood in Kurseong in 1936, his Tertianship in Ranchi and his Final Vows in the Society of Jesus on 15 August 1939.
Most of his priestly life, except for a short stint in St Joseph's Seminary in Mangalore, was spent in St Aloysius College, Mangalore or St Joseph's College, Bangalore. He has been an untiring worker all his life as Rector, Vice-Principal, lecturer, treasurer, director of Sodality of BVM and Apostleship of prayer, confessor and director of souls. In all these activities he remained a true priest of God, genuinely human and genuinely divine.
He was soft-spoken and went about doing his assigned duty with quiet efficiency and deep dedication. In his approach he was above all people-oriented. He was friendly with all he met, rich or poor, men or women or children, distinguished or non-entitles. He was deeply human without compromising his priestly integrity.
His keen interest in people and in all the activities going on around him was truly remarkable. He was a man always on the move, visiting people in all the important moments of their lives. He visited the sick at home and in the hospital. Even on the day prior to the day of this death, he went to console a bereaved family.
He was a voracious and fast reader and read widely. He had his own way of skimming through books and quickly assessing their contents. He communicated his finding and encouraged others to read. His memory and acuity of mind till the very end was remarkable. In his assessment of people he was astute and realistic but he always displayed a compassionate heart of deep sympathy and understanding.
In his passing, away the Society of Jesus in India has lost a veteran and model Jesuit. Countless number of people who had known him would miss him and find it hard to believe he is no more. But he will be surely thinking, of the century and the people he had known and loved and pray for the advent of a better world and millennium.
Fr. A. Devasahayam S.J.
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Thought for the Day:" Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, Fon in the manner their fathers did to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, For you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, For you shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did they fathers to the false prophets." Holy Bible: Luke 6:20-26