Archdiocese bids farewell to its great Pastor Archbishop Emeritus Raul Gonsalves

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Archdiocese bids farewell to its great Pastor
Archbishop Emeritus Raul Gonsalves

Our dear Archbishop Emeritus Raul Nicolau Gonsalves passed away on 1st July, 2022 at 08.54 hrs., at JMJ Hospital, Alto Porvorim. The Archdiocese of Goa and Daman thanks the Lord for the gift of an admirable Pastor to the Church in Goa and Daman, in the person of Most Rev. Raul Nicolau Gonsalves.

Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao expressed his grief in these words: “I am indeed saddened with the death of my revered predecessor, Most Rev. Raul Nicolau Gonsalves, who was called by the Lord to his heavenly abode this morning. Archbishop Raul had been for long years a zealous and a courageous Pastor to the Church in Goa and Daman. He had also made a very significant contribution to the life and the mission of the Church in India. The entire Church in Goa and Daman joins me in thanking the Heavenly Father for gifting Archbishop Raul to us and in praying for his eternal repose in the arms of our Risen Lord, Whom he served so faithfully and generously.”

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The mortal remains of Archbishop Emeritus Raul Gonsalves is be kept in the Chapel of the Clergy Home, Alto-Provorim, till the funeral day. Anyone desiring to visit and pray for him may do so between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The funeral will be held on 4th July, 2022, Monday, at 4 pm, at Se Cathedral Church, Old Goa.

Archbishop Gonsalves was called to serve the Church in Goa as a Bishop at a time when it was still facing the effects of Goa’s integration into the Indian Union. He was a man of tremendous endurance, fortitude, humility, loyalty to the Church, devotion to duty and ability to absorb, calmly and serenely, various types of shocks and difficult situations; he had the willingness to do what he could and leave in the hands of the Lord what he knew he could not do, qualities which kept him going where a less gifted leader would have perhaps succumbed to serious breakdown, physical drainage of energies or even despair.

He faced and handled controversial problems taking his own time to decide, spending hours in prayer, discussion, evaluation of pros and cons, before deciding and remaining faithful to his decisions even amidst misunderstandings and menaces.

Given below is a brief biodata of Archbishop Emeritus Raul Nicolau Gonsalves:

  • Born in Bambolim, Ilhas Goa, on June 15, 1927
  • Ordained a priest in Rome, on December 21, 1950.
  • Doctor in Sacred Theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum of Propaganda Fide and Licentiate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University.
  • Appointed Professor of the Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol, on August 16, 1954.
  • Appointed Rector of the Minor Seminary of Our Lady of Saligao-Pilerne, on June 18, 1956.
  • Secretary at the Apostolic Nunciature in New Delhi, India, from 1962 to 1964.
  • Elected Bishop Auxiliary to His Excellency the Apostolic Administrator, Bishop Francisco da Piedade Rebello, on January 5, 1967.
  • Ordained Bishop on March 5, 1967.
  • Appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Goa Daman Diu on June 28, 1972, taking charge of his office on June 30, 1972.
  • Appointed the first Goan Archbishop of Goa and Daman and Patriarch of the East Indies on January 30, 1978.
  • Took charge as Archbishop-Patriarch on March, 5, 1978.  
  • Was Archbishop of Goa and Daman until March 2004, when his resignation was accepted by the Holy See.

Some milestones that could be attributed to him are:

  1. A sound Financial Reorganisation of the Archdiocese, giving it the economic stability it enjoys today, after the uncertain waters the Church in Goa sailed on for a few years after the Liberation of Goa in 1961.
  2. The constitution of the first Diocesan Pastoral Council
  3. An historic Pastoral Plan for the Archdiocese, with focus on the establishment of Parish Pastoral Councils and Small Christian Communities.
  4. Established the Diocesan Centre for Social Communications Media, on March 28th 1979.
  5. Established the Vocation Commission for the Diocesan Clergy of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, dated August 20, 1984.
  6. The visit of Pope John II to goa from February 4th to 6th 1986, Inaugrated Museum of Christian Art, at Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol on January 23rd, 1994 along with the honourable President of India, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma.
  7. The convocation of the Diocesan Synod 2002
  8. The promulgation of the revised Constitutions of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman