Moodubelle: Memorial Mass offered for air crash victim Ignatius D’Souza

Report and Pictures by Eugene Moodubelle
Bellevision Media Network

Moodubelle, 08 June 2010: A Memorial Requiem Mass for Ignatius D’Souza of Manibettu who had died in the Dubai-Mangalore air crash on 22nd May 2010 was held on Tuesday, 8th June 2010 at 10 am in St. Lawrence Church Moodubelle. The memorial Mass was jointly concelebrated by Fr. Baptist D’Souza, who has come on a brief vacation from the Diocese of Allahabad and Fr. Joswey Fernandes, Parish priest of Moodubelle who also delivered the homily. In his homily, Fr. Joswey recalled the terrible air crash in which 158 persons including Ignatius lost their lives. Giving examples from Holy Scriptures, Fr. Joswey explained the strange ways of God and how we have to abide by the will of God.

Following the Memorial Mass, Francis Lobo, a close friend of late Ignatius during their association in youth movement, paid rich tribute to Ignatius. He recalled the loving and caring nature of Ignatius and expressed few words of consolation to the bereaved family of Ignatius. Following the eulogy, Fr. Joswey, Fr. Baptist, the family members, relatives and the ward members offered floral tribute to Ignatius by garlanding the portrait and offering flower petals to the picture of Ignatius that was kept on a table. The memorial Mass was attended by the widow of Ignatius D’Souza, Patricia, two children-Precita and Chris, mother of Ignatius-Mrs. Florine D’Souza and  brothers, sister and other family members. 

As reported earlier, Ignatius   was one of the twelve victims of the air crash whose body could not be identified in spite of the DNA test. He was given a common burial along with other eleven unidentified bodies on 2nd June 2010 on the bank of the Gurpur River in Panamboor, an emotional funeral that was attended by the family members of these twelve victims. This common funeral was attended by the Minister of State for Railways, KH Muniyappa representing the Central Government and J. Krishna Palemar, the Guardian Minister of Dakshina Kannada representing the Karnataka State Government. There were also MPs and MLAs as well as different government departmental heads who had made arrangement for the common funeral with religious priests-Muslim, Christian and Hindu reciting their respective prayers at the funeral.  

As late Ignatius D’Souza had been residing at Shaktinagar near Kulshekar in Mangalore since the last six years with his wife and children, a Memorial Mass was offered for him at the Kulshekar Church on Friday 4th June 2010 at 10 am with Most Rev. Dr. Aloysius Paul D’Souza, the Bishop of Mangalore as the chief celebrant.