FR. EDWIN SEQUEIRA SJ

                                 

                                            1928 - 2010 

 

 On Christmas Eve 2010 before Pune’s St. Xavier’s Church Christmas bells pealed and the strains of joyous carols broke out, the coffin bearers quietly brought into the church the mortal remains of Fr. Edwin Sequeira for his funeral Mass. The God –with- us gently called him from his suffering bed at St. Luke’s hospital, Shrirampur to celebrate the eternal banquet of the “Onein-Three”. His calm face in death yet bore marks of his last struggle with pneumonia.  

 

Born in a small catholic family in Nairobi, Kenya in 1928, he began his schooling there. A sudden car accident brought him at the age of eight to death’s door; however the fervent parental prayers and promise of offering him to the Lord to be a priest if Edwin recovered were mercifully heard. Not long after, Fr. Edwin’s mother passed away and his father was relieved of his work due to a persistent ailment; then after remarrying he returned to India, settling down in Pune. Here his sons Edwin and Joe were admitted to St. Vincent’s High School, and daughters to St. Anne‟s Convent close by. Edwin, devoted to home and studies, faired quite well in school, but was not given to playing games and joining in sports. As an altar boy at St. Xavier’s Church and as a sodalist in the school sodality, he grew up in his desire to be a priest and even joined a group of other Vincentians who met informally to foster such desires.  

 

Soon after his matriculation in 1944, Edwin spent three years in the Papel Seminary (Mumbai) to become a Pune Diocesan priest, but left it to join the Pune Jesuit Mission. On 5-1-1948 he began his novitiate in Vinayalaya, pronounced his first vows in 1950 and carried on through other Jesuit formation stages. In March 1959 he was ordained a priest and in February 1965 took his final vows. Among his special courses were: firstly graduating as B.A with Sanskrit and other subjects from S.P.College; secondly completing a Jesuit Spirituality Course at the Gregorian University, Rome; thirdly courses at Columbia University in New York for teaching English. He could cope with these and many other assignments. Incidentally, his frequent visit to doctors during his long life due to various ailments may have been caused by his early brush with death and a sense of insecurity in health matters.  

 

His long years in Spiritual Ministries formed the core of his priestly life. He served as a Spiritual father and English teacher at XTC Belgaum, similarly seven years at the Papal Seminary, Pune and eleven years at the Diocesan Seminary, Allahabad and at BTC Juniorate, Pune. He was also house minister at XTC and at the Papal Seminary. Besides he is remembered as a retreat preacher and director for priests, religious (men and women). Our late Fr. General commended him “for his compassionate understanding and effective ministry of the living word” and for serving “as a model of Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd”. His family, scattered in India, U.K and U.S.A have affectionately recalled his visits especially to his brothers and 

sister. His sense of humour, gift of storytelling and counselling them in their personal life situations have been treasured by them. His passionate love for western classical music was marked by his family and others.  

 

Finally in his last years at Shrirampur his friendly disposition and patience in his trials were noteworthy in imitation of Him “who was born to die for mankind so that” “men live for evermore because of Christmas day”. R.I.P