>Rathfelder at 21:20, 25 March 2021

2021-03-25T21:20:37Z

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{{short description|Indian Roman Catholic Bishop}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Bishop
| name = Basil Salvadore D'Souza
| title = Bishop of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Mangalore|Mangalore Diocese]]
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| church = [[Roman Catholic Church]]
| see = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Mangalore|Mangalore Diocese]]
| term = 1965–1996
| predecessor = [[Raymond D'Mello]]
| successor = [[Aloysius Paul D'Souza]]

| ordination = 11 May 1965
| ordinated_by =
| consecration =
| consecrated_by = [[James Robert Knox]], [[Albert Vincent D'Souza]], and [[Alphonsus Mathias]]
| rank =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1926|5|23|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Mangalore]], Karnataka, India
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1996|9|5|1926|5|23|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Mangalore]], Karnataka, India
| previous_post =
}}

'''Basil Salvadore D'Souza''' ({{lang-knn|बासिल साल्वादोर डी सोझा<small> ([[Devanagari]])</small>, ಬಸಿಲ್ ಸಲ್ವದೊರೆ ದ ಒಜ<small> ([[Kannada script|Kannada]])</small>}}; 23 May 1926 – 5 September 1996) was the Bishop of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Mangalore]] from 22 March 1965 until his death on 5 September 1996. He was the longest-serving bishop in the diocese's history.<ref name="Mangalore">{{cite web|url=http://www.mangaloretoday.com/mt/index.php?action=news_briefs&type=2050|title=Book on unknown aspects of late Bishop Basil D'Souza to be released|publisher=Mangalore Today|date=2 September 2010|accessdate=23 January 2012}}</ref>

==Early life==
Basil Salvadore D'Souza was born on 23 May 1926 in St. Lawrence parish, at [[Bondel]], [[Mangalore]]. He was the eldest of seven children to a [[Mangalorean Catholics|Mangalorean Catholic]] couple, Diogo and Mary D'Souza (''née'' Pereira). The family belonged to the D'Souza-Kamath clan, a Mangalorean Catholic clan of the same area.<ref name="Bishop">{{harvnb|Lobo|2000|p=223}}</ref> Economically, the family was poor and subsisted on income generated by cultivating betel leaves.<ref name="Diocese">{{cite web|url=http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=84525&n_tit=Fr+Baptist+Menezes+to+Unveil+Late+Bishop+Basil's+'The+Unknown%92+Side+on+Sep+5|title=Fr Baptist Menezes to Unveil Late Bishop Basil's 'The Unknown' Side on Sep 5|publisher=[[Daijiworld Media|Daijiworld Media Pvt Ltd Mangalore]]|date=1 September 2010|accessdate=23 January 2012}}</ref> D'Souza was ordained into the priesthood on 25 March 1952.<ref name="Bishop"/> He later became the manager of the Catholic Board of Education, and also served at the Kodialbail Press.<ref name="Diocese"/>

==Bishop of Mangalore Diocese==
D'Souza was appointed Bishop of Mangalore Diocese on 22 March 1965, and consecrated on 11 May 1965 by Abp James Robert Knox, [[nuncio|papal nuncio]] in India.<ref name="Diocese"/> He would retain the post until his death, thereby becoming the longest-serving bishop of the Mangalore Diocese.<ref name="Mangalore"/> D'Souza was among the few participants in the final sessions of the [[Second Vatican Council]] which took place from 1962 to 1965.<ref name="Mangalore"/> He spearheaded the implementation of the renewal then proclaimed by the council, and became the first Indian bishop to implement the mind and spirit of the Universal Church as envisaged in the Documents of the Second Vatican Council.<ref name="Diocese"/> He was responsible for the introduction of vernacular services in the diocesan churches, where until then the masses were said in [[Latin]].<ref name="Diocese"/> The Bible and other liturgical texts were translated into Konkani during his tenure.<ref name="Mangalore"/> He organised the welcoming arrangements for Pope [[John Paul II]] during his historic visit to Mangalore on 6 February 1986.<ref name="Mangalore"/>

D'Souza's long tenure saw the establishment of several new parishes (mainly in the remote villages) and institutions such as family guidance centres.<ref name="Bishop"/> He founded a new mission outside the Mangalore Diocese at [[Bidar]] in northern [[Karnataka]], where the number of Christians was small.<ref name="Bishop"/> He adopted the place as a missionary territory, and it later became a part of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Gulbarga]].<ref name="Mangalore"/> D'Souza served as Chairman of the CBCI Commission of Vocations, in which capacity he founded the National Vocation Centre at [[Pune|Poona]].<ref name="Bishop"/> He also founded the Chair of Christianity at [[Mangalore University]] in 1987.<ref name="Bishop"/>

==Death==
D'Souza died of heart attack on 5 September 1996.<ref name="Diocese"/> During his time of death, D'Souza was just five years away from retirement <ref name="Diocese"/> His remains were interred at the [[Our Lady of Rosary of Mangalore|Rosario Cathedral]] on 9 September 1996.<ref name="Mangalore"/> On 8 November, he was succeeded as Bishop of Mangalore Diocese by [[Aloysius Paul D'Souza]].<ref name="Mangalorean">{{cite web|url=http://mangalorean.com/browsearticles.php?arttype=mom&momid=53|title=Rev. Dr. Aloysius P. D'Souza (Mangalorean Star: May, 2006)|publisher=Mangalorean.com|date=May 2006|accessdate=15 January 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314135927/http://www.mangalorean.com/browsearticles.php?arttype=mom&momid=53|archivedate=14 March 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{Refbegin|colwidth=50em}}
*{{Cite book
|last=Lobo
|first=Michael
|authorlink=Michael Lobo
|publisher=Camelot Publishers
|title=Distinguished Mangalorean Catholics, 1800–2000: a historico-biographical survey of the Mangalorean Catholic community
|year=2000
|isbn=978-81-87609-01-8
}}.
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bdsouzabs.html Bishop Basil Salvadore D'Souza's profile] at Catholic-hierarchy.org

{{BishopsofMangalore}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:D'Souza, Basil Salvadore}}
[[Category:1926 births]]
[[Category:1996 deaths]]
[[Category:Christian clergy from Mangalore]]
[[Category:Mangaloreans]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in India]]

Basil Salvadore D'Souza - Revision history

>Rathfelder at 21:20, 25 March 2021