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SVD Shishyalaya, Vasai |
History
After several years of being in the pipeline, the INS Provincial Administration’s plans to move into Marathi-speaking areas took off in 1998. Similar sincere efforts were made in the 1970’s but for one reason or the other these efforts did not materialize. From 1998 onwards, Fr. Augustine Kanjamala (Provincial) and his team sent 3 priests(Fr. Callisto Gomes, Fr. John Mascarenhas and Fr. Ivan D’silva) in quick succession into the newly created diocese of Vasai to learn the language and for pastoral experience. This was also with the view of preparing missionaries to move into to Marathi-speaking belt of the state. With the division of the INS province, the need to move into mission areas began to be felt more acutely in the INM province. In 2002 Fr. Jacob Mulavurical was sent by the new INM Provincial administration led by Fr. Gregory Pinto for the same purpose of learning the Marathi and for pastoral experience.
On 17th June 2001 the SVD Mission Seminary was inaugurated by Fr. Augustine Kanjamala (Provincial INS) and blessed by Rt. Rev. Bishop Thomas Dabre (Vasai). This was started in a make-shift place in Papdy. This house was freely given for use for a period of 2-3 years by well-wishers Mr. Gregory and Sheila Pereira of Palle. Fr. Callisto Gomes svd was appointed the first Rector. The purpose of this formation house was to recruit and train boys at the Minor Seminary level. Three boys from Vasai joined here in the first year and for lack of space and facilities another four boys were sent to the Goa Seminary in Raia. In June 2002 five boys from Maharashtra (two Vasai, two Mumbai and one from Aurangabad) showed a willingness to join the Seminary. Four of these were sent to Kirem, since a one-year Orientation and Language course was started there for the first time for the Manglorean boys. One boy from Maharashtra joined Goa for Plus Two studies.
Later in 2002 the Generalate approved the budget and plans for land and building of a new Minor Seminary in Vasai to cater to the needs of students joining from Maharshtra. After lots of search for suitable land now the day is nearing to lay the foundation stone for the minor seminary.
Activities of SVD Confreres in Vasai
Confreres: Fr. Callisto Gomes
Fr. Ivan Felix D’Silva
The religious environment in the diocese of Vasai is very warm, friendly and welcoming. All the conferers appointed to Vasai are initially placed in diocesan parishes. Besides the rich pastoral experience, this has given them an opportunity to get to know and work with the Diocesan clergy. It has also helped to make the Society known in the clerical and lay population of the diocese. Most of the clergy now knows and appreciates the work and involvement of the SVD Fathers in the diocese. Fr. Thomas Malipurathu svd was requested and invited to preach the Annual Diocesan Clergy Retreat in 2001. Fr. Callisto and Fr. John preached a Lenten Recollection for all the priests of the diocese in the following year. They were also given the responsibility of preaching the Annual Retreat for the Diocesan Seminarians in the new Diocesan Seminary in October 2002. The conferers make themselves available for imparting value education at the youth camps in the diocesan senior college and some schools. Often the SVD Fathers are called for Marathi and English preaching during Novenas and feasts in the parishes. This involvement in various parishes helps in vocation promotion.
Challenges:
As in many other urban areas of India, one of the major challenges and hurdles in vocation promotion is the shrinking size of the average Indian Catholic family. Parents are possessive of their children and so less keen about promoting their children for religious life. The materialistic tendencies of the consumeristic world have also hit families in a big way making many youngsters individualistic and self-centered. Religious and priestly vocations from the economically well-to-do areas are very few. Religious life is not seen as attractive for most youngsters from well-off families. As far as faith is concerned, families are still very traditional and prayerful. However, youngsters are afraid of making long term and permanent commitments. One particular difficulty faced in vocation promotion is with regard to the seriousness of the candidates and their motivation levels. Many have their hidden agendas. A great many of them are encouraged by their families to join the Seminary for the sole purpose of learning English in order to compete in the job market. At the time of admission and during the stay in the Seminary the candidates are very well behaved and so it becomes hard to separate the ‘weeds’ from the ‘wheat’. There are more than 10 Men Religious congregations in the diocese. There is isn’t much interaction between these congregations for vocation promotion work in the diocese. But during informal conversations all, including women religious, admit to be facing the same problems.
Prospects:
In the past forty years Vasai as a region has contributed as many as 300 priests and many more religious to serve the local Church, the Church in India and abroad. Much of this is because of the God-loving families of Vasai. This rightly proves the point that good vocations come from good families. Even today there are many families who feel proud and boast of having a priest or a religious in the family. This is clearly seen in the tremendous respect that the priests enjoy in society. With economic prosperity, the number of vocations has gradually and steadily decreased. There are still students joining, but not as many as before. Unfortunately we do not have a single local (Maharastrian) vocation in the Society, even though we have been in Maharashtra for close to five decades. We cannot and must not depend on and look for vocations from one area only. Maharashtra is a vast linguistic area having a population of 96,752,247 and covering 307,690 sq. km. (Source: Manorama Year Book 2002). It comprises of nine dioceses. We have to spread out and make our presence felt in more areas in order to attract more boys towards religious life. Our only advertisement is our work, our commitment and our lifestyle as Divine Word Missionaries. As a congregation we can make our presence felt in a more forceful way – in areas like inculturation, dialogue, research, communication etc. The Society’s specific and unique charism as missionaries must be brought out through our work which has to be seen as different. Mission work is challenging. It must also be made attractive for youngsters to motivate them to opt in.
