Verghese V Joseph & Bro. John Malvino Alfonso OCD –
Goa: Fr. Simião Purificação Fernandes, who hails from Chandor, was ordained as Bishop by Archbishop Filipe Neri Cardinal Ferrão of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman during a Eucharistic celebration held at the Se Cathedral on Monday. The ordination was presided over by Cardinal Filipe Neri.
Pope Francis had appointed Fr. Simião Fernandes as the Auxiliary Bishop on April 6th, 2024. Cardinal Ferrão served as the Principal Consecrator, while Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas SFX of the Diocese of Daltonganj and Bishop Alex Dias SFX, Bishop-Emeritus of the Diocese of Port Blair, were the co-consecrators.
The ordination of Bishop Simião Fernandes marks a significant milestone for the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman. The Archdiocese had not had a Bishop for 30 years since Cardinal Ferrão’s own ordination as Bishop on April 10th, 1994.
Bishop Simião Fernandes, hailing from Guirdolim Chandor, is the fourth native Bishop to serve the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, following in the footsteps of Bishop Francisco Rebello from Margao, Archbishop Raul Nicolau Gonsalves from Bambolim, and Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão from Aldona.
In his Homily theme on ‘Not to be served, but to serve,’ which is the motto of the new Bishop, Bishop Sebastião Mascarenhas of the Diocese appealed to the congregation to serve others selflessly, just as Jesus did. He reminded the faithful that all bishops, priests, religious, and lay people are “servants of the servant,” as Pope Francis has said. Bishop Sebastião emphasized that the face of Jesus in India today is seen in the self-emptying, self-giving service of the Church to the poorest of the poor.
Fr. Joaquim Loiola Pereira and Fr. Polly Lobo assisted the Bishop-elect during the Rite of Ordination. Fr. Kevin Justin Kimtis (Second Secretary of the Apostolic Nunciature, India) and Fr. Joaquim L. Pereira read the Apostolic letter appointing Fr. Simião as Auxiliary Bishop in Latin and Konkani respectively.
The Episcopal Ordination was attended by a large gathering of around 6,000 faithful. Several Bishops, including Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore, Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, Bishop Aleixo Das Neves Dias, Bishop John Rodrigues, Bishop Barthol Barretto, Bishop Malcolm Sequeira, Bishop Sebastião Mascarenhas, Bishop Thomas Elavanal, Bishop Alwyn Barreto, Bishop Lourds Daniel, Bishop Mathews Mar Pachomios, Bishop Derek Fernandes, Bishop Duming Dias, and Bishop Peter Paul Saldanha, were present.
Additionally, several Priests, including Fr. Kevin Justin Kimtis from the Apostolic Nunciature, Fr. Jose Remedious Fernandes, the Vicar General of the Archdiocese, Fr. Stephen Alathara, the Deputy Secretary General of the CCBI, Fr. Christopher Vimalraj Hiruthya, Fr. Nazareth Fernandes, sfx, Fr. Rosario Oliveira, Fr. Alfredo Vas, Fr. Leonardo Pegado Souza, Fr. Deniz Fernandes, Fr. Lucio Dias, Fr. Tony D’Souza, ofm, provincials of religious congregations in Goa, seven deacons of the archdiocese and several diocesan and religious priests concelebrated the Eucharistic celebrations.
Around 6000 faithful participated in the Eucharistic celebrations.
In his introductory remarks, Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão expressed joy over the Episcopal Ordination of Fr. Simião, stating that God had chosen him to continue the ministry of Jesus among his people. Bishop Simião Fernandes also expressed his sentiments of gratitude during the ceremony.
The episcopal ordination was attended by several political leaders, including the Governor of Goa, P S Shredharan Pillai, the Chief Minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant, Union Minister Shripad Naik, South Goa MP Capt. Captain Viriato Fernandes Ministers of Goa: Alex Sequeira, Mauvin Godinho, Sudin Dhavlikar, Subhash Sirodkar and MLAs Yuri Alemao, Adv. Carlos Fereira, Viresh Borkar, Joshua Dsouza, Cruz Silva, Rajesh Phaldessai, Capt. Venzy Viegas, Alton D’Costa and Alex Reginald Laurence.