Société des Missions Africaines - D/F de l'Inde

né le 28 juin 1928 dans le diocèse de Tiruchy membre de la SMA le 10 septembre 1995 prêtre le 25 mars 1954 décédé le 21 septembre 2012

décédé à l'hôpital de Madurai le 21 septembre 2012,

Le père Aarokiasamy GNANAPRAGASAM (1928 - 2012)

Fr. Gnanapragasam was born on June 28, 1928 in Vadakankulam of Tuticorin diocese. His parents Arokiasamy and Gnanpragasiammal had five sons and two daughters and Fr. Gnana was the second born. Except his elder brother and the youngest brother all his siblings chose religious vocations.

Young Gnanapragasam joined St. Augustine’s minor seminary in 1945 and continued with St. Paul’s Major seminary, Trichy in 1947 to do three years of Philosophy and four years of Theology. He was ordained a priest for the diocese of Trichy on September 10, 1954.

In 1990, after serving his diocese for about 35 years, Fr. Gnanapragasam desired to slow down and retire quietly without knowing that the most adventurous and active part of his life was still ahead of him. The Society of African Missions had just arrived in India at that time and was looking for a spiritual director for the new candidates joining the Society. Fr. Gnanapragasam accepted to offer his service and took charge as the Spiritual Director in the SMA community at Mangadu on June 2, 1990.  

The stay with the SMA enkindled in him a missionary desire and he wished to visit Africa. He was offered a 40-day trip in April-May 1991 to Ivory Coast and Ghana where he witnessed the SMA mission. That was a life changing experience for Fr. Gnana. On October 23, 1991, he made a request to join the SMA as a missionary. Fr. Patrick Harrington, the Superior General then considered the request of the 63-year-old candidate and finally on January 31, 1992, the Superior General and his council decided to accept Fr. Gnanapragasam as a candidate for membership.

Fr. Michael McCabe, the then General Councillor in charge of formation informed Fr. Gnanapragasam of his Spiritual Year programme, designed just for him. It had four parts, the first two in India, the third in Rome and the fourth in London. The first was from July to September 1992 and Fr. Pat Kelly directed it starting with a retreat based on the ‘Retreat to Missionaries’ of our Founder. Fr. Michael O’Shea continued with the second part from September 1992 to March 1993. He concentrated on Mission or Martyrdom, SMA Constitutions and Laws and some other SMA literature. The third part was to be in Rome from April 1993 but it had to be postponed due to some practical issues. Fr. Gnanapragasam concentrated on the closing of the academic year and the related transitions.   He then went to Rome for the third part under the guidance of Fr. Michael McCabe from June 6 to August 11, 1993. From there he went to the final stage in London where he did a retreat and took his first oath on September 3, 1993.

As a new temporary member of the SMA, Fr. Gnanapragasam went the very next day to Liberia. He spent nine months in Bomi hills and seven months in Monrovia. During those sixteen months in Liberia he enjoyed evangelisation in the rural areas of Bomi hills and later he had to leave the place because of the civil war to Monrovia where he worked as chaplain and spiritual director in a hospital, in the refugee camp and in a seminary. He risked his life during that period and lived with the people and finally he had to leave on January 20, 1995.

He desired to go to Africa again but was never able to do so but worked like a horse for the Indian SMA Unit in various roles - spiritual director, bursar, contact person for the postulator for the cause of the Founder, vocations animator and fund-raiser. His extraordinary simplicity and humility impressed all those who met him. He always wrote a few personalised lines with a pen to every benefactor when he sent them cards.

His high esteem for our Founder transformed him and he radiated with passion whenever he spoke of him – even before becoming a member of the SMA. God provided this kind of passionate and dedicated formators to India as the country was refusing to allow foreign priests to stay for more than six months.

Fr. Gnanapragasam was known for his deep spirituality, simplicity, humility and hard work. He enjoyed working in the garden. In the early 1990’s seminarians saw him too demanding. He thought the young generation was not serious enough as that of his time. As years passed he became very tender and understanding to seminarians. He was genuinely proud of the young Indian SMA members. He started advising some formators to take it easy with seminarians.

From the beginning of his time in the SMA, he was called ‘thatha’ (grand-father) by seminarians. He really enjoyed the title and was true to it till the end. Fr. Gnanapragasam died in a hospital in Madurai on September 20, 2012.