Father Raymond Ambroise
by Nirmala Carvalho | Asia News
July 13 2020
MUMBAI – “Calm and reserved missionary priest with a deep love for the Church, who has dedicated all his energies to the service of the Lord“.
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), thus defines Father Raymond Ambroise, who died on July 7 “in the home for the disabled with hundreds of homeless people who considered him their father”.
“On behalf of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) – writes card. Bo – I express our pain and regret at the sudden disappearance of Fr Raymond Ambroise, former executive secretary of the FABC Social Communications Office and consultant for Radio Veritas Asia “.
“Fr Raymond was a calm and reserved missionary priest with a deep love for the Church. He dedicated all his energies to the service of the Lord. He has been a pioneer and luminary in the field of social communication, social development, innovative educational programs and numerous other forms of pastoral ministry. Skilled administrator and meticulous planner, he was calm, modest, kind and above all deeply spiritual in everything he did. He has managed many funds and projects, but has lived a very frugal and austere life. His deep insights and progressive thinking helped Radio Veritas Asia (RVA) migrate from shortwave to an online service. He led the transition process diligently. He was a visionary and his efforts paid off. “
“He loved the poor, as is evident in his painstaking work to found and feed the Andhra Pradesh Social Service Society (APSS), which guaranteed livelihoods and economic development for thousands of families.”
Fr Raymond, the cardinal continues, “has never backed down from any job, but those who have known his skills have continued to ask for support and advice. He was always ready to provide every service with the utmost commitment. We never expected that he would leave us so soon, but we believe that, according to the calculations of the Lord, he had faithfully completed the work that had been entrusted to him. We bow to God in gratitude for Fr Raymond’s life and testimony. We trust that the Lord will reward him with eternal life. “
The cardinal then recalls that Fr Raymond in March 2019, at the end of his assignment at the FABC wrote: “When I returned to India after completing my assignment at FABC-OSC, my heart was exuberant with joy for what God has done in my life and in particular in the past nine and a half years in the field of social communication and Radio Veritas Asia; also with a heart full of gratitude for God for having fulfilled my desire through RVA to be a missionary in my life to bring Jesus to the millions of Asians who flock all over the world “.
“I thank God for choosing me to serve RVA as a consultant from 2003 to 2009 and from 2010 to April 2019 to serve the Asian Church as secretary of the FABC-OSC. As I have always recognized, I consider the choice as God’s plan to use me despite my inadequacies. But since I was serving the Lord, and it was He who chose me, I was confident that he would authorize me to carry out His plan for all my assignments and in particular to Radio Veritas Asia according to the needs of new technological innovations. In all this I had to be just an instrument in his hands. I thank God for the many ways in which he accompanied me to fulfill my task “. – AsiaNews
