By Matters India Reporter
Mumbai, Nov 30, 2021: A Catholic priest, who danced and used Indian classical music to bring the message of Christ to millions, died November 30 in Mumbai, western India. He was 77.
Divine Word Father Charles Vas, a legend in Hindi liturgical hymns, was ailing for several months. He was residing at Sangeet Abhinay Academy, an institution of song and dance he founded in 1980 at Mumbai.
Funeral details are awaited.
Father Vas was a poet, composer and musician, who had directed several musical events such as ballets, music dances and bhajan programs in India as well as abroad, says a message from a message from the Divine Word Society congregation.
He was called by several names such “a singing visionary,” “a dancing missionary,” “a bhajan chanting Catholic priest,” and “an evangelist through dance.”
A bhajan is a devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas. It is a group event, with one or more lead singers, accompanied with music, and sometimes dancing.
Father Vas produced more than 40 CDs of -bhajans and hymns that enriched Church singing in different languages. “His music and hymns have been most popular devotional hits in the country especially in Hindi speaking area,” says the message.
Father Vas was born February 12, 1944, in Omzoor parish of Mangalore diocese. His lone brother is a high court lawyer in Mumbai. Among his three sisters, two have become nuns.
As a young boy Charles Vas played side drums for the village music band, sang in the church choir and developed a penchant for music.
He joined the Society of the Divine Word in 1956 when he was in the sixth grade. He pronounced his final vows in 1976, the same of his ordination.
Seven years later, he was awarded a doctorate in music from the Akhil Bharatiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya, Miraj, Maharashtra. His doctoral thesis was “East meets West.”
Father Vas was awarded “Alankar Shiromani Puraskar” award in 2006, and Kalakar Puroskar in 2008, for his excellence and outstanding contribution in the field of music and dance.
His Sangeet Abhinay Academy attracted enthusiastic youngsters from across the country. His “Prem Ragini,” a ballet-musical on the salvation history, saw performers dancing in Indian and Western styles. The program had more than 500 shows both in India and overseas.
Father Vas’ “contribution to the Hindi liturgical music and biblical dance drama is great and will remain in the hearts of the people for ever, say Divine World Father Norbert Herman, a musician priest in Rajasthan.
Indian Missionary Society Father Anand Mathew hailed Father Vas as “a genius in Church music. A great personality, who used his talents well for the glory of God. Through his songs he will continue to abide in the lives of people. May his soul rest with the Lord.”
May he enjoy that heavenly presence of the Abba, for whom he had been longing for as he expressed it through his poetry and music. You will be always alive in the hearts of the Church in India. Bye bye Dear Father ji. pray for us that we meet you one day there and join with you in the heavenly choir.