Mumbai: A nonagenarian missionary from Spain is all set to become an Indian citizen after 68 years of stay in the country.
On October 8, Jesuit Father Fredrick Sopena took an oath of allegiance to India at a government office in Mumbai, western India, where he is based.
“I Mr Gussi Frederick Sopena, aged 90, do solemnly affirm in the name of God that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by the law established, and that I will faithfully observe the law of India and duties as citizen of India,” the 90-year-old priest pledged before Deputy Collector Pratap Pawar at his office in Bandra.
A small crowd that had assembled there applauded when the elderly priest told reporters in Hindi that “India is my country and all Indians are my brothers and sisters.”
The collector will submit Fr Sopena’s application to the state government, which in turn will forward it to the federal Ministry of Home Affairs for approval
The Catholic priest resides at Vinalaya, a home for aged Jesuits close to the Holy Family Church in Andheri. He met with an accident in the 1990s, leading to foot amputation. He has since been fitted with a Jaipur Foot. Everyone addresses him as Baba (father).
He came to India in 1947 when he was 22 as a Jesuit missionary from Spain. During World War II, his parents had to flee their home town. He doesn’t remember anything about his hometown or his country of birth.
He now speaks fluent Hindi, Marathi and the Agri, a dialect, mumbaimirror.com reported.
“I am 90 now, and have spent 68 years in India. I want to die an Indian citizen and be buried in this soil where I worked, received love and affection, and made so many friends,” Fr Sopena said. He has been trying to get Indian citizenship for the last 30 years, he added.
In 1986, he appeared for Hindi elementary examination in a city school with Std V students, only to get a certificate saying he could read and write in Hindi. Later, he studied philosophy at St Xavier’s Institute, Mumbai, and completed his graduation.
According to the Indian Constitution, it is mandatory for a foreign national seeking Indian citizenship to know at least one Indian language. In 2012, he submitted a form and attached his original certificates, but the file was never found after being handed over to the collector’s office.
Vaishali Patil, who claims to have known the priest for the past 40 years, said she first met him when he had set up a workshop for tribal families. “He named his organization the Janhit Vikas Manch (people’s development forum), and worked toward women empowerment, skill development of landless farmers, and education of the tribal children,” Patil said.
His Jesuit confrere Father Mathew Ferreira said, “Getting Indian citizenship has been his long-cherished wish.” He said the elderly priest completed all formalities after a few initial glitches.
Fr Ferreira also said the new Indian citizen is known as Sopena Baba in villages across Raigad, a region in Maharashtra state. “Once, during a workshop, a woman revealed that her husband had abandoned her because she had lost a leg in an accident. Baba removed his Jaipur Foot and said that if he could carry on working, the woman could well prove to her husband that he was the loser,” Father Ferreira added.
Fr Sopena has worked for the betterment of the poor and needy in Mumbai, Thane, Nashik and Raigad districts. Besides preaching God’s love he made people aware of various government welfare schemes meant for them.
After amputation in 1990, he has become hard of hearing due to constantly riding scooter. He still carries on with his avowed pursuit of serving society.