Daijiworld Media Network-Kolkata
Kolkata, Jun 27: Eminent educationist and Archbishop Emeritus of Kolkata Dr Henry Sebastian D'Souza passed away on Monday, June 27.
Dr Henry Sebastian D'Souza was 90. He breathed his last due to age-related illness.
He was the Archbishop of Kolkata from 1986 till his retirement in 2002.
Archbishop D’Souza hit international headlines for the smooth handling of the funeral of Blessed Mother Teresa who died on September 5, 1997, in Kolkata. However, he was away in Rome when she died. He was her friend for more than 35 years. He played a crucial role in initiating the process of canonising Mother Theresa. Her canonization is scheduled for September 4 in Rome.
Archbishop D’Souza often hailed Mother Teresa as “the face of Christ in the world” for spending her life time helping people understand the nature of the divine.
He was born January 20, 1926, in Kolkata (then Calcutta) and was ordained a priest on August 24, 1948. He was appointed the bishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar in 1974. In 1985, he was transferred to the Calcutta a as the coadjutor Archbishop. He succeeded Cardinal Lawrence Picachy as the archbishop of Calcutta on April 5, 1986.
The Archbishop had served as the president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India and secretary general of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences.
Known as an educationist, he had also played a major role in founding the Sacred Heart School in Kharagpur town.