Six Karnataka Jesuits pronounce final vows

On : 2023-04-17

Six Karnataka Jesuits pronounced their final vows in the Society of Jesus at Mount St Joseph on April 16. Frs Alwyn Ronald D’Souza, Jerald M. D’Souza, John Lang Bosco, Kanikiaraju M., Robert C. Rodrigues and Olvin Veigas gave expression to their final commitment in the presence of the Karnataka provincial Fr Dionysius Vaz.

At a concelebrated eucharist held at Mount St Joseph chapel, Fr Maxim Misquith broke the word of God. In his homily, he said that final commitment for a Jesuit comes through the inspiration of St Ignatius Loyola, the founder, who committed himself to Jesus completely after his canon ball moment at the war at Pamplona.

There was a short felicitation programme after the Eucharist. Fr Joseph D’Souza raised the toast for the vowents. He highlighted the uniqueness of each of the vowents and said that all the six Jesuits were highly committed, hard working and unique in their own league.

Provincial Fr Dionysius Vaz in his message said that with the final vows, a Jesuit strengthens his commitment that began in the novitiate. “Now the vowent becomes the Society, in that, he will strive to nurture the Society,” he said. He gave the six Jesuits a message in the form of three ‘I’s, namely Identity, Ignatius and Integrity. “A Jesuit must not forget his identity which comes from the Lord himself. Ignatius is the model who must constantly challenge a Jesuit and finally it is utmost important that a Jesuit is a man of integrity which is a sure way to become relevant today,” Fr Vaz added.

Fr Jerald M. D’Souza spoke on behalf of the vowents and thanked all persons who worked tirelessly for the success of the programme. During the programme, a booklet written by Fr Jerome D’Souza SJ about Bible translation was released. Fr Jerome gave a brief explanation about the process of Bible translation into Kannada.

(Pics by Anthony Arul SJ)