High-level meeting

D'Souza was there as his brother, Albert, formerly the Bishop of Lucknow for more than 14 years in India received the Pallium June 29, elevating him to Archepiscopate of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Agra, India.

Fifty-one bishops from around the world were appointed to archbishop on that date with 46 receiving the Pallium at the Vatican. The rest were elevated to archbishop by the Papal Nuncio in their country. D'Souza and Albert were joined by their brother, Edwin, who is also a priest in Toronto, Canada. A fourth brother, Most Rev. Alphonse D'Souza, S.J., who has been a bishop in India for more than 20 years, was unable to attend because his travel is limited by health concerns.

D'Souza said he had seen Pope Benedict XVI before as part of a crowd but had never spoken with him personally. He also met Benedict's predecessor Pope John Paul the 2nd in mid-1995. D'Souza said that Pope John Paul had an especially outgoing manner that showed in his public personae as well as in one-on-one meetings. He described Benedict as more formal but also very congenial. The pope met privately with all the archbishops appointed in the ceremony. D'Souza said he was honored to be included with his brothers in private audience with his holiness.

D'Souza was ordained a priest in 1965 and volunteered to enter the Navy while serving with the Catholic Diocese in Lubbock, Texas.

He received his commission in the Navy Chaplain's Corps in 1989. He answered this call to service at an age when most officers would be retiring. Nonetheless, he tirelessly pursues a multitude of duties; visiting patients, their family members and

the staff and ministering to their spiritual and pastoral needs daily. He also offers individual counseling and officiates mass, etc. He plans to keep up a busy pace until he fulfills his military obligation and beyond. "A priest never retires, he just keeps on performing his priestly duties to the extent he is able until he dies," said D'Souza. "What keeps me going is my commitment to my responsibilities as a priest and to minister to the people entrusted to my spiritual and pastoral care."

Naval Hospital Jacksonville Chaplain Lt. Matthew D'Souza is a benefactor of the Mukartha Home for the Elderly in his home state of Karnataka, India.

His obligated service will be extended as per indications from his Chaplain Corps detailers and he will soon be returning to one of his prior duty stations, National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md. He said that will keep him in the military for two to three more years than he originally thought. Following retirement, D'Souza said he hopes to enter an assisted living facility either in the U.S. or in India.

D'Souza is from a family of 13 children, including eight brothers and four sisters. The devoutly Catholic family lived in the Karnataka state, in the South Eastern part of India. Catholicism was first introduced there more than 500 years ago by Portuguese missionaries headed by St. Francis Xavier. D'Souza noted that the saint's body is uncorrupt for that long and is still available for viewing in Goa, India.

The D'Souza family was known at the time by the name Mudartha, prior to their conversion to Catholicism from Hinduism. Many Mudartha's still live in the region and go by the name 'Mudartha.'

Besides his four brothers, two of his sisters also entered the service of the church. They joined the Sisters of the Cross of Chavanod, founded in Chavanod, France. The order later crossed the border into Switzerland. From their home in Genoa, Switzerland, the order has ministries in 14 countries around the world including India and the U.S. D'Souza's sister, Eugene, was recently elected the new superior general of the order and has moved to the generalate in Genoa. Another D'Souza sister, Lucy, also a sister with the order, died 15 years ago.

Although meeting the pope and seeing his brother elevated to such a lofty height was exciting, D'Souza said he also enjoyed the opportunity to travel with his brothers. Their trip included a warm and hospitable visit to the Capucine Fathers' Provincial House in Bologna, Italy. Priests from that order had manned the diocese of Lucknow, India, from where Albert was transferred to the Archdiocese of Agra as its archbishop. Albert was one of the priests who had worked under the Capucine priests and bishops in Lucknow prior to his appointment as a bishop of Lucknow. That position was held by one of the founder members of that religious order from Bologna, Italy.

All of D'Souza sisters and brothers are involved with goodwill projects. Through his military income, D'Souza is the primary benefactor of the Mukartha Home for the Elderly back in India while his sister's order oversees the facility as part of their mission. It is located about 700 miles south of Bombay on a 10-acre plantation. It boasts a new building and is capable of housing 40-60 residents. The plantation is planted with banana trees, papayas and various palms which bear fruit year round. The harvesting of these plants helps supplement the facility's funds.

D'Souza said he is proud of his family as they serve God and their fellow men and women. He said, "They do God's work around the globe."

The care and concern exemplified by D'Souza and all of the hospital's Pastoral Care Department is just one more facet of the commitment to service that Naval Hospital Jacksonville patients can count on when they come to the facility for care.