Fr Dourado to celebrate 25 years of ordination

Fr Martinho Felipe Antonio Dourado, Our Lady of Merces Church, Colva will celebrate the silver jubilee of his ordination on May 8, at St Andrew Church, Vasco, his home town.

Fr Dourado was among the 26 priests who are celebrating their silver and golden jubilee of their ordination in this jubilee year 2000 at the Se Cathedral Church, Old Goa.

Fr Dourado was born on March 21, 1950, at Vasco, and is the son of late Jose Luis Dourado and late Maria Piedade Magdalena de Mello. He is the eight child in a family of ten children which includes Fr. Assis Dourado who is the parish priest of the Colva Church.

Fr Martinho entered the Saligao Seminary in 1961 and received his priestly ordination at the hands of Patriarch D Raul Nicolau Gonsalves on April 27, 1975, at St Andrew Church Vasco.

After a year’s course at Pastors Institute Pius X at Old Goa, the first appointment was to look at the student boarders at Lar Estudiantes, Margao.

He was then appointed assistant parish priest t Mae de Deus Church, Saligao in 1978, and lastly served as the assistant parish priest at the St Christopher’s church, Tivim, St John the Baptist Church, Benaulim, Our Lady of Snows, Raia, Our Lady of Hope, Chinchinim and St Theresa’s church, Chauddi Canacona.

He took charge as parish priest of the St Sebastian church, Loliem and later was parish priest of Our Lady of Assumption church, Sarzora and has since August 1998 been serving as a priest on the of Our Lady of Merces Church, Colva.

Recently in September 1999, he was lathi-charged by the Goa Police in Vasco Civil and Criminal court when he was present to show his solidarity with Anti-Meta string agitation.