Bengaluru: Fr. Chowrappa Selvaraj, a leading priest of Bangalore archdiocese, died March 16 morning, after battling various illnesses. He was 60
The death of Fr Selvaraj, popularly known as Chasara, came a day after the passing away of 87-year-old Fr. Terence Joseph Fransz.
Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore announced Fr Chasara’s death at the funeral of Fr Franz at Sacred Heart Church March 16.
Fr Chasara died around 4 am at St. Philomena’s Hospital in Bangalore where he was admitted for Acute Pancreatitis and Ischemic Heart Disease.
Fr. Chasara was the fourth child born to Chowrappa and Mariamma in Bengaluru on November 5. 1955.
He studied in St. Aloysius High School in Bengaluru, joined St. Mary’s Minor Seminary and completed his priestly formation at St. Peter’s Pontifical Seminary, Bangalore. He was ordained a priest on June 2, 1983, by the then Archbishop Packiam Arokiasamy of Bangalore.
Fr. Chasara is remembered as the first priest from the archdiocese’s Holy Ghost parish, which is under the Redemptorist congregation.
Fr Chasara’s body was taken to St. Joseph’s Church, Briand Square, Chamarajpet in Bengaluru, where he was serving as parish priest, for people to pay their respects. Around 30 priests attended the funeral Mass led by Fr Anthappa from Mysore.
His family has requested for conducting the funeral service at the same parish. His mortal remains will be then shifted to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish Cemetery, Mariapura, for burial.
Fr. Chasara was a voracious reader, musician, lyricist, good orator and preacher. He has authored several books in Kannada on the Bible, catechetics and liturgy. As musician he produced hymnals, DVDs and CDs to promote devotion and spiritual renewal.
He is hailed by many as a priest who worked hard for the uplift of the downtrodden and for their spiritual renewal.
The priest’s Will dated October 21, 2015, mentions that the local archbishop “should not say the Requiem Mass for me.”
The archdiocesan officials say Archbishop Moras will offer Mass for the departed soul at 8 am on March 17 at Sacred Heart Church. The archbishop had administered the ‘Anointing of the Sick,’ or the Last Sacrament, for Fr Chasara in the hospital.
Meanwhile an anonymous hand-bill in Kannada bearing an email id of the deceased priest was being widely distributed in churches across Bangalore.
The handbill applauds the untiring efforts of the Kannada priest in launching and leading a revolution for the welfare of Kannada Christians. It also says people need not pray for the repose of his soul as he has already received his eternal reward for championing the cause. It calls upon people to instead pray for those in authority who need to render justice and not suppress the cause for which the priest had championed until his death.
Fr Chasara was the president of the Karnataka Kannada Dharmagurula Balaga (association of Kannada priests of Karnataka) and one of the office bearers of Akhila Karnataka Kannada Catholic Christhara Sangha (All Karnataka Kannada Catholic Christians association).