(ANS - Rome)- On Friday 13 December, the Rector Major Fr Pascual Chávez, in agreement with his council, appointed Fr Gildasio Mendes dos Santos and  Fr Nirmol Vincent Gomes as provincials of Brazil Campo Grande (BCG) and India-Calcutta (INC) respectively.

Fr Mendes dos Santos was born on 18 March 1963 in Conceição do Barra, Brazil.  He entered the Salesian novitiate of São Carlos in 1983 and made ​​his perpetual profession on 11 February 1990 in Campo Grande. He was ordained priest at Rondonopolis on 12 December 1992.
For ten years, from 1993 to 2003, he was Vice-Rector of the Dom Bosco community in Campo Grande, and from 2009 he was Rector of the Salesian Institute of Santa Teresa in Corumbá. Between 2004 and 2005 he was Delegate for Social Communication, a role he took on again in 2009 and still holds to this day.

In giving the news to the Salesians of the province, the present Provincial Fr Lauro Takaki Shinohara said, "We welcome him in a spirit of faith, grateful to God for the new Provincial he has given us. We wish Fr Gildasio a fruitful ministry and we assure him of our prayers and our support."

Fr. Nirmol Vincent GOMES, aged 54, was born on 8th February 1959 at Ranaghat (West Bengal), India  to Andreas Gomes and Agnes. He professed as a Salesian in 1979 after his novitiate at Sunnyside Shillong, did his philosophical studies at Sonada. After his theological studies at Salesian Pontifical University, Rome (residing at Gerini) was ordained on 22nd July 1989 at Begopara-Ranaghat, West Bengal in India. After teaching at Sonada till 1997 he returned to Rome for his Doctorate in Saelesian Pedagogy at Salesian Pontifical University till 2000. He then served as the Rector of the Philosophate at Sonada from 2000 to 2006 and was then the Rector of Don Bosco – Krishnagar from 2007 to 2009. After being a parish priest in Bongaon for two years, presently he is the Rector of the Salesian College at Siliguri. The new Provincial is proficient in English, Italian, Hindi and Bengali. We wish him God’s blessings and the grace of state needed for this important assignment.

Fr. Nirmol will attend the General Chapter XXVII in Rome as observer and will assume his new responsibility at the end of May 2014.

Published 16/12/2013