A century ago, on November 26, 1921 to be precise, Archbishop Alban Goodier welcomed the “first three Spanish fathers and two brothers to India, calling their arrival in what was then known as Bombay one of God’s greatest blessings in these tragic days,” said Fr Myron Pereira. This year, 2021 is of spiritual significance as it marks 100 years to the advent of the Spanish priests in the city.

“There are five or may be six Spanish priests left in the city, of those who planted and nurtured the faith along India’s west coast,” said Fr Pereira, Jesuit priest, from his residence at Campion School quarters in Colaba, giving historical context to the Spanish story. “After the German Jesuits were expelled from India post the first World War and British colonial authorities vetoed a plan to send American Jesuits to Bombay, the Jesuit Superior-General issued a command asking Spanish Jesuits, many who had worked in the Philippines for centuries, to re-locate to India. There was implicit obedience and submission to that order.”