By Nirmala Carvalho
Mumbai, March 11, 2026: The archdiocese of Bombay has commemorated the birth centenary of Monsignor Benny Aguair, the longest serving editor of The Examiner, India’s leading Catholic weekly.
“Monsignor Benny was an evangelizer through his pen. He proclaimed the Gospel, not only in the pulpit but in the public sphere, through his editorials and writings,” said Cardinal Oswald Gracias, former archbishop of Bombay who led a thanksgiving Mass on March 10 at Our Lady of Egypt, Kalina, Mumbai.
Monsignor Aguiar died on August 26, 2021, at the age of 95. He edited The Examiner weekly during 1961-1994 and was the best-known priest-journalist in India during the last decades of the 20th century. He also edited the Indian Currents, a weekly published from New Delhi.
He wrote for the British Tablet and the American National Catholic Reporter and was a correspondent at the last session of the Vatican Council.
Cardinal Gracias recalled that Monsignor Aguiar had spoken “with clarity, precision, and courage, always championing justice and truth. His voice was sought out to make the Gospel present in civic life.” He said the priest-editor’s “articles were deep, accurate, and fearless, speaking truth to power. Through his words, Benny brought Gospel values into society, inspiring others to live with faith, justice, and courage.”
At a fellowship following the Mass, Justice Aloysius Aguiar, summed up his eldest brother’s career as a priest journalist.
“Monsignor Benny [Aguair] was the eldest of nine siblings. He joined the seminary at the age of 15, even before some of his younger siblings were born. Monsignor Benny was ordained a priest on December 21, 1951,” Justice Aguiar recalled.
He recalled the monsignor going to the Vatican City in 1965 to cover the last session of the Second Vatican Council for The Examiner, and subsequently reported on three Synod of Bishops for the newspaper.
The monsignor was a prolific writer who authored books such as “A Pope for the World,” a biography of Pope John Paul II written shortly before the papal visit to India in 1986.
Another book, “Jesus is Lord,” was re-released by Cardinal Gracias on the monsignor’s birth centenary.
Father Anthony Charangat, who edited The Examiner for 32 years, credited Monsignor Aguiar for shaping his life and vocation. “His approach to mentoring was practical, demanding, and deeply formative—he believed that the best learning came through perseverance, discipline, and experiencing the realities of the field, often learned “the hard way.”
Bishop Allwyn D’Silva, who concelebrated the Mass, hailed Monsignor Aguiar’s prophetic courage shown during the Emergency in India (1975–1977). “Monsignor Benny made a powerful statement of protest by publishing a blank page as Editorial, in The Examiner,” the bishop recalled.
Bishop D’Silva said that act had demonstrated not only journalistic integrity but also deep moral conviction. It reflected the monsignor’s “unwavering commitment to truth, justice, and the ethical responsibility of the Church’s media to stand with the people, even in moments of national crisis.”
Father Joshan Rodrigues, the current Editor of The Examiner, said Monsignor Aguiar’s impact continues to be felt through his writings.
“Although I did not have many personal interactions with him, I came to know him intimately through his prolific writing and the many editorials he wrote in The Examiner,” Father Rodrigues said. “Even today, his intellectual depth and remarkable mastery of the written word remain vivid in the memory of our readers.”