Udupi: Fr Lawrence D’Souza former director of St John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, Bengaluru took charge as secretary of Catholic Education Society of Udupi (CESU) on Saturday at the Bishop’s Chapel here.
Msgr Baptist Menezes Vicar General of Udupi Diocese administrated the oath of service and administration and wished all success in the new ministry.
Outgoing secretary Fr Clement Mascarenhas welcomed Fr Lawrence D’Souza by offering a floral bouquet. Fr Clement has been transferred as parish priest of St Lawrence Church Moodubelle. Fr John Mendonca Judicial Vicar of diocese, Fr. Edwin C D’Souza director of Youth commission, Fr. Fred Mascharenhas Dean of Udupi deanery, Fr. Vincent Celho principal of St. Johns PU College Shankerpuraa were present.
Brief Profile of Fr Lawrence D’Souza
Fr. Lawrence was born on November 28, 1948 at Pernal in Udupi district, Fr Lawrence was ordained as priest on May 5, 1977 at the Milagres Church, Mangaluru. He completed his B.Sc degree from St Aloysius College, post graduation in philosophy from Karnataka University Dharwad and PG diploma in business management from St Aloysius College. He also holds a LLB degree from SDM Law College. He has also completed his MA in religious studies and PhD in administration and supervision from Fordham University, New York.
Fr Lawrence served as the secretary of Catholic Board of Education for seven years in Dakshina Kannada and also as administrator of Father Muller Medical College Hospital and College of Nursing for eight years. He served as an associate pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Church New York and Sacred Heart church, New York between 1992 and 1998. He also served as parish priest of Holy Cross Church, Cordel under Mangaluru diocese for two years. He is also a member of the governing board of De Sales University, Pennsylvania, USA, since 2011.
Congratulations to Fr. Lawrence on taking over as the Secretary of CESU. We hope Fr. Lawrence will use his vast administration experience in education and healthcare to improve the overall quality of our Education system in Catholic Board Schools and also inculcate new methods of teaching that are required in today’s dynamic world. Our teachers need training to cope up with the new dynamics of education and more importantly they need lot of encouragement and revision in their salaries. Otherwise, we will continue to lose all our good teachers to other private institutions.