Mangaluru : The Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has decided to offer a civic felicitation to Bishop of Mangaluru Diocese Rev. Aloysius Paul D’ Souza to mark his 75th birthday celebrations.

The event will be held at the Town Hall on June 21 at 3.30 p.m.

This was announced by Mangaluru South MLA J.R. Lobo and Ivan D’ Souza, MLC, here in a press conference held at Bishop house on Monday.

They said that the decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Mayor K. Harinath. The felicitation would be in honour of the Bishop’s service to society, who incidentally would be completing 20 years in the office in December this year.

The felicitation would be attended by Archbishop of Bengaluru Barnard Moras, Mangaluru Ramakrishna Mutt’s president Swami Jitakamananda, district Quazi Twak Ahmad Musliyar among others. The felicitation organising committee is headed by Mr. Lobo while educationist M. Mhan Alva is the convenor and M.P. Naronha is the secretary of the committee, said a press release here.

Born to Mathias D’ Souza and izabella D’ Souza at Hekkottu village near Bantwal on June 21, 1941, Rev. D’ Souza was ordained on December 3, 1966.

He served as an assistant priest in Holy Cross Parish, Cordel, till 1970 and proceeded to Rome for doctoral studies in Canon Law in 1971 to become the Advocate of Rota in Rome.

Back in Mangaluru in 1976, Rev. D’ Souza was appointed the Chancellor of the Diocese and the Judicial Vicar of the Diocesan Tribunal.

He was appointed Parish Priest of St. Rita’s Church, Cascia, Mangaluru in 1987. After becoming the Auxiliary Bishop of Mangaluru in May 1996, he was appointed Bishop of Mangaluru on December 18, 1996.

The Bishop is serving as the Chairman of Father Muller Hospital and also started many schools and colleges in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, besides running an engineering college, a destitute home at Jeppu and distributing 160 houses for the needy.

MLC Ivan D’Souza, secretary of the felicitation committee M P Noronha, president of the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy Roy Castelino, former mayor of MCC Jacintha Alfred, Fr J B Crasta and others were present.