By Adrian Fernandes
A Goan member of a Catholic religious congregation, Sr. Lucy Britto, the first Goan Nun to work in the renowned Secretariat of the Holy See, returned to India this week after serving in the Archives Department of the Secretariat of State, Vatican City (Holy See), for around 15 years. She is the first Indian nun to have the opportunity of serving the Vatican department and for such a lengthy tenure as well. The Secretariat of State, of the smallest country of the world, is the central papal governing bureaucracy and caters to the diplomatic and political functions of the Holy See and with the day-to-day correspondence of the Pope. The Pope, who resides at Vatican, is accepted as the spiritual head of the Catholic Church, which has more than a billion adherents and the highest number of followers from among all the religions across the globe.
The septuagenarian nun (Lucy) was born on 6th July 1947 and is a member of the religious congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Saints Bartolomea Capitanio and Vincenzia Gerosa (SCCG), also known as the ‘Sisters of Maria Bambina’, Earlier this month, she addressed a Konkani-speaking gathering of laity, sisters, brothers and priests, at the Casa Geral da Companhia de Jesus (the Generalate of the ‘Society of Jesus’ or the ‘Jesuits’) at Rome, Italy. She expressed her gratitude to those gathered and gave a token of remembrance and an assurance of her prayers.
Addressing the informal gathering she said, “it was an enriching prospect to serve the Church for a decade and a half. Each day, quietly and humbly working in the papal and Vatican State premises was a God-given opportunity to me to contribute my mite to the ‘holy mother Church’ ” (Catholics acknowledge the Church as a mother). Her resourceful and commendable multi-linguistic competency for French, English, Italian and also to a considerable extent, the Spanish language, proved to be very effective in the department she served so efficiently all these years. Besides her fluency in Portuguese and Konkani, she is comfortable with Hindi, Marathi and recently could considerably decipher German and Polish too.
Sr. Lucy carries fond memories of what she describes as an otherwise arduous responsibility of discipline, confidentiality, capacity and commitment. Lucy hailing from Cuncolim, Goa spent her younger years in Goa and Mumbai. Completing her elementary studies in Mumbai, Nashik and Goa, Lucy pursued her Bachelor’s degree in English Literature, Political Science and Psychology at St. Francis Degree College for Women at Hyderabad. After the completion of her Bachelor’s degree in Education at St. Anne’s College, Mangalore, she was awarded a scholarship for further studies by a joint collaboration of the governments of India and France. She obtained her Master’s degree in French from the ‘English and Foreign Languages University’ (EFLU) at Hyderabad, after which since 1976, she taught French for Higher Secondary and Degree level for 17 years, at St. Francis College, Hyderabad. Coming back to Goa in 1994, she served as the first Principal of Maria Bambina Higher Secondary School, Cuncolim and the superior of her religious community there. She arrived in Rome in June 2003, before serving for three years as the superior of the community and Incharge of Yuvathi Sharan (Working Girls Hostel) at Prabhadevi, Mumbai.
Serving in the Vatican Secretariat since the 1st of July 2004, Sr. Lucy carries many fond memories she treasures. She expressed her joy to work in the same premises where the Popes lived and worked and often encounter them. She served three Popes – Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. She highlights a prominent trait each of them – John Paul for his charismatic personality, Benedict for his scholarly brilliance and Francis for his love for the poor; but in all of them she found the common traits of humility, simplicity and being steeped in prayer. Pope John Paul II, she recalls was very old and weak when she had begun her service at the Vatican. But she was surprised to witness the throngs of people who visited the Vatican, even though they knew that he was bed-ridden. Such was the impact the great Pope had left etched on thousands who were impressed with his personality and whom he met during the course of the hundreds of visits across the globe.
Pope emeritus Benedict XVI she affirms is an exceptional scholar. A philosopher, theologian and novel thinker, whose treasury of writings has left behind a legacy. She accords his book, ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ to be a masterpiece of deep spiritual insights. She is quick to add that despite Benedict’s ‘next to none’ capacity, he is a very humble man to the core and was very much loved by the personnel of the Secretariat. Pope Francis’ simplicity has been inspirational to her. She feels that the prelate does not carry any sign of being superior to anyone. She recalls vividly that he was found perennially unassuming, he would humbly walk in the office, interact with anyone, share meals with the poor and intermingle with anybody present. She is in praise for his deep love for the poor and fearlessness to stand for the truth.
Lucy shared about her vocation too. She was always inspired by the pedagogical dynamism of the Jesuits during her schooling days. She as well desired then, to one day teach the way they taught. Later on, reading the lives of St. Bartolomea Capitanio and St. Vincenza Gerosa (founders of the congregation of the ‘Sisters of Maria Bambina’) left a deep impact on her. “There were varied promising prospects for my future, but nothing surpassed my desire to serve Jesus and offer my life in charity for humanity” she affirmed. Her formative years were not easy. Six months after joining the convent, her father expired. She also did not have the demands of the religious way-of-life descend that smoothly unto her. However, the determination to shoulder her difficulties after the example of Jesus’ sufferings and her intent to serve humanity, kept her single-minded to give her best till date.
Working in the archival department of Vatican is never easy. It is a team work of personnel from different walks of life and from different nationalities. However, Lucy is known for her simplicity, systematized approach and disciplined lifestyle; she never took an afternoon nap or procrastinated what could be completed at the earliest. The tedious task of attending to the hundreds of daily correspondences addressed to the Pope required the commitment of being disciplined and focused all through the year. And the sea of the daily mail was simply so remarkably diverse – from children’s letters and drawings, to diplomatic documents; from simple people sharing day-to-day experiences and joys, to complaints about the Church and of God as well; from requests for prayers, to invitations to visit one’s hometowns and countries. She values the guidance Pope Benedict had imparted to her department – that though the letters received may be in hundreds, yet every letter ought to be respected, because behind every letter there is a person and there is also the person’s precious desire to communicate across something that is important to her/him.
Lucy could have been for more time in the Vatican City, however she herself requested for a termination, in a bid to pave the way open, for a swifter and younger replacement, who would continue contributing to the Secretariat. A few days before leaving Vatican, she was invited to participate in the Holy Mass celebrated by Pope Francis at the Casa Santa Marta at Vatican. The Pope there personally thanked Sr. Lucy for her dedicated services at Vatican. Blessing her, he gave her a special rosary which he normally gives to the special dignitaries visiting him at the Vatican City. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State, who is sometimes described as the Prime Minister of Vatican, conveyed the gratitude of the Church in the following words: “viva gratitudine per la fedele ed apprezzata collaborazione che hai reso con generosa dedizione alla Santa Sede” (in Italian) which is translated as “deep gratitude for the faithful and appreciated collaboration that you have rendered with generous dedication to the Holy See”.
Despite her hectic daily routine, Lucy had often adjusted her schedule to be available, to guide and even accompany Goans, Indians and others to visit the famous Sistine Chapel, Vatican Gardens, the Papal Apostolic Palace, the Vatican Museum and other places of interest in Vatican and Rome. Many reciprocate their gratitude to Lucy for helping them have a wonderful experience to the ‘eternal city’ of Rome. But, as for now, with Sr. Lucy’s exit from the Vatican, we may not have anyone from our land serving in the prestigious offices of Vatican; yet we will always have the joy to proudly remember that a sister from our soil served the Papal offices in Vatican for a tenure which till date, no other Indian priest, prelate or lay person had yet covered. Perhaps Sr. Lucy’s story of capacity and commitment, would inspire us to value and hone every talent we possess and to realise that dedication and discipline will take us to new horizons and avenues of personal growth and to constructively contribute for humanity as well.
(Adrian Fernandes is a native of Assolna, Goa and a member of the missionary congregation of the ‘Society of Pilar’. He has served in North India and in Goa. At present he is pursuing his Doctoral studies at Rome)
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Well done Sister Lucy. God bless.