Stephen Quadros Permude

Mangaluru, Jun 10: Bishop Aloysius Paul D’Souza, popularly known as Bishop A P is also regarded as the ‘People’s Bishop’. He was the Bishop of the Undivided Bishop of Mangalore (including the Civic districts of Kasaragod, Mangalore and Udupi) for 22 years (1996- 2018). He will be celebrating his 82nd Birthday on 21.06.2022. To commemorate this occasion a collection of articles titled, ‘Witness to Compassionate Love ‘ will be released on that day; the work is edited by Stephen Quadros Permude.

Aloysius Paul D'Souza was born on 21 June 1941 at Hekkotu, a neighbourhood in the Agrar suburb of Bantwal, Dakshina Kannada. He was the sixth of seven children to Mathias and Isabella D'Souza. One of his brothers Rev. Fr Charles D'Souza is a pastor in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Delhi, and one of his sisters Sr Janis A.C., is a nun in Chandigarh. He completed his primary education at Agrar, and did his pre-university studies at the S. V. S. High School in Bantwal. In 1958, the same year of joining the high school, he joined the St Joseph's Inter–diocesan Seminary to study for the priesthood.

Bishop D'Souza was ordained as a priest on 3 December 1966, and served as Assistant Priest of the Holy Cross Church, Cordel until 1970. During this time, he graduated from Karnataka University. Impressed by his competence and his creativeness and knowledge of Roman Catholic theology, the then Bishop of Mangalore Basil Salvadore D'Souza appointed Aloysius Paul D'Souza as his Secretary. In 1971, the Diocesan authorities sent him to Rome to do a doctorate in Canon Law, where he specialised in Christian Marriage Law. Upon completing his doctorate, he was subsequently appointed as an Advocate of Roman Rota—the supreme tribunal of Catholic Church, thereby becoming the first Indian priest to achieve this distinction. Fr Aloysius D'Souza is one of only two Indians to qualify as an Advocate of Roman Rota, in which capacity he was Judicial Vicar of the Mangalore Tribunal from 1984.

D'Souza returned to Mangalore in 1976, and was appointed the chancellor of the Mangalore Diocese in 1977. During this time, he was in charge of vocations and founded Gladsom Home, a minor seminary in Bolar. He simultaneously held the posts of the Vicar of the Cascia parish from 1988 as well as that of the Director of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women from 1985. In 1995, he became the first Diocesan priest to be appointed as the Rector of St. Joseph's Seminary in Jeppu.

On 11 January 1996, the Holy See under Pope John Paul II appointed Fr Aloysius D'Souza as Auxiliary Bishop of the Mangalore Diocese and Titular Bishop of Dura. Upon Bishop Basil Salvadore D'Souza's sudden death in 1996, he was appointed as the administrator of Mangalore and on 27 December, he was formally installed as Bishop of Mangalore.

After becoming Bishop, Aloysius Paul D'Souza finalised the construction work of the Diocesan Pastoral Centre. He strengthened the Canara Organization for Development and Peace (CODP) Institution, and was instrumental in the establishment of Father Muller Medical College; inaugurating its opening in 1999. He was also instrumental in founding the St Joseph Engineering College. He served as the Chairman of Family Life Commission of the CBCI (Catholic Bishops Council of India). Bishop D'Souza also spearheaded the opening of many other colleges, High schools and Primary schools. He worked very hard to build strong and healthy social order based on compassion and forgiveness. ‘By the Compassionate Love of Jesus Christ’ was his Episcopal Motto.

After his retirement he is staying at the St Joseph’s Inter-Diocesan Seminary Mangalore.