Frs Jesu Robinson and Mylin Noronha

The leaders and administrators of communities of the Salesian Province of Mumbai met in Provincial House, Matunga to discuss important financial and administrative matters of individual communities and the province as a whole on 18 April 2026. 

The meeting began with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist in the crypt of the Shrine of Don Bosco’s Madonna at 9 am. Fr Ashley Miranda, the Provincial  and the outgoing members of the Provincial Council – Frs Blany Pinto, Gregory Almeida and Vinod Mascarenhas were the principal celebrants. While reflecting on the gospel in his homily, Fr Miranda encouraged the confreres to welcome Jesus into the boat of their lives, even in the midst of troubled waters. At the end of the Eucharist, Fr Gregory Almeida thanked the Provincial, Provincial Council members and the confreres for their support during his tenure as Provincial Economer.

After a short break, the confreres gathered in the Audio-visual room of the Provincial House at 10:30 am. After Fr Robert Pen, the Vice Provincial shared the schedule for the day, Fr Miranda addressed the confreres. He thanked the confreres for their hard work in the various ministries of the province, but warned them to avoid burnout. He encouraged the confreres to continue to grow in their personal and community life of prayer and offered a few bits of advice for the well-being of the individual confreres and the communities. 

Following his address, Fr Ashley was invited to present his book titled ‘Cherished Memories’ to Frs Ian Doulton, Elson Baretto and Ivan Dsouza. The book includes 83 obituaries of the deceased members of the province. While explaining the rationale behind its compilation, Fr Almeida described the book as a means of making known the legacy of the deceased confreres. 

Then Fr Vinod Mascarenhas – the Provincial Secretary, presented the province calendar for the apostolic year 2026-27. He then presented the draft of the Organic Provincial Plan (OPP), explaining its meaning and objectives. He described the plan as a point of arrival flowing from the directives of the General Chapter 25, and a point of reference for the individual Community and Salesian Educative Pastoral Plans. After providing an overview of the different sections of the OPP, he thanked the confreres for their support and collaboration during his tenure as Provincial Secretary. 

Fr Miranda concluded the session by announcing that in preparation for the centenary of the Salesian presence in Mumbai, he wished to circulate an account of the various ministries in each community along with his provincial circulars starting in June 2026. 

After lunch, the confreres regrouped at 2:30 pm. Fr Almeida shared some information and guidelines regarding financial and administrative matters. He then invited Mr Savarino D’Souza – the Province Finance Officer – to present the financial position of the province and the individual houses. 

Before thanking Fr Almeida for his contributions as Provincial Economer, Fr Miranda reminded the confreres that they were mere administrators and not owners of the goods and assets of the province and therefore, ought to be judicious in the use of resources and be generous in their contributions to the province.