The prelate, 94, worked for 50 years with Alcoholics Anonymous helping people, including non-Christians, kick the habit. Head of the Catholic Nurses Guild of India for more than 20 years, he promoted a culture of life. He founded a college in Bandra with Mother Teresa.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) – Mgr Hilary Rodrigues, died yesterday at the age of 94. He had spent the past year at the clergy house in Bandra, Mumbai, recovering after an operation.
A pioneer in interfaith dialogue, he served the sick and youth "following the example of Mother Teresa", to whom he was attached by a long friendship.
Mgr Felix Machado, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), remembers his extraordinary “calm serenity in the face of pain”, noting that “he only said Trust Jesus”.
Ordained in 1954, Mgr Rodrigues was on the most representative figures of the Archdiocese of Bombay (Mumbai). During his life, he served as a spiritual guide with Alcoholics Anonymous for nearly 50 years. “He was a sponsor to many,” explained Mgr Machado, “including numerous non-Christians, who owe their sobriety and new life to him.”
Fr Rodrigues was also executive director of the Catholic Nurses Guild of India for 21 years, as well as secretary to the bishop of Shimla for 41 years, later becoming the vicar general of the diocese.
As director, “he travelled extensively across India, providing spiritual guidance to Catholic nurses, promoting life, teaching Catholic nurses to defend life in all its fullness, encouraging them to participate in outreach programmes for the sick, the disabled and the elderly".
In 1958 he was appointed parish priest at St Andrew's Church in Bandra. Here he saw the need for youth participation in liturgical services, and so started the tradition of stage and musical activities for young people.
He also established the first community of neo-catechumens, inviting some members to teach spiritual catechesis. He founded St Andrew's College, and his friend Mother Teresa participated in the laying of the foundation stone.
“Mgr Hilary lived a disciplined life, both in prayer and in his priestly duties,” said Archbishop Machado. “He was very faithful to his religious life, praying every morning the Breviary and the Rosary. He was always available for counselling.”
Last but not least, he prepared “the path for Second Vatican Council’s dialogue with other religions, specifically for us in India, with Hinduism”.