The rector of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount will celebrate his birthday on April 5. He is the only priest of the basilica, and was "superior" of Card. Oswald Gracias, when he was a priest. He received the title domestic prelate. He has served Indian Church since the 1950s, when he met Pope Pius XII. He studied in Rome and London. He is working on a permanent exhibition of scenes from the mysteries of the Rosary.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) - "I am an unworthy servant, I have only done my duty” says Msgr. Nereus Rodrigues, Rector, Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount, Bandra (West) Mumbai, on the threshold of his 93 years. The priest will celebrate the birthday on April 5. Speaking to AsiaNews he says humbly that his life has been spent in the service of the Church in India and was animated only "by service carried out with love. A service rich in mercy and charity".
Msgr. Rodrigues is a renowned educator and has faithfully served the Indian Church the pontificate of Pope Pius XII, whom he met as a child in 1956 (see photo taken with His Holiness and the family of the son of Mahatma Gandhi in 1956). He was a brilliant student and he represented his university in various football tournaments, winning many awards.
He studied at St Xavier college, where he graduated. After finishing his studies at the seminary, Cardinal Valerian Gracias sent him to London University for a further degree in Education. He later studied Canon Law at the Pontifical Urbanianum University in Rome, where his doctoral work won great praise. He was awarded the prestigious scholarship from the Fulbright foundation, at the University of Southern California.
Since 1995 he has been the rector of the basilica of Bandra. He was pastor of the Sacred Heart Church, Santa Cruz when Card. Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai, was his assistant.
Msgr. Rodrigues was awarded the title of Domestic Prelate and is involved actively in the life of the parish, which also houses a Holy Door of Mercy. Among his latest initiatives, there is the project of a permanent exhibition of the scenes depicting the 20 mysteries of the Rosary.