In this interview, Fr. Fio Mascarenhas, a Jesuit priest and biblical scholar, shares insights from his life and ministry. The eldest of five brothers in a devout Goan family, he was drawn to the Jesuits from an early age. Despite nearing his Sacerdotal Golden Jubilee, Fr. Fio continues to preach, write, and lead retreats worldwide, inspiring countless Catholics to deepen their faith. His work in biblical spirituality and the Charismatic Renewal has had a lasting impact, and his latest books offer fresh perspectives on the life of Jesus and the Gospel.
- Tell us something about your early life and family.
Of 5 sons in my family, I am the eldest. My brother is also a Jesuit, Fr Frazer, while Faust, Fidelis and Franz are happily married. We all have the same initials, as my mother was Florie and my father Francis. We lived near St Xavier’s High School (and College) in Bombay, and are therefore Jesuit products. My mother was a school teacher, and my father a commercial artist. We were a very happy and pious Catholic Goan family.
- What attracted you to join the Jesuits?
In school and (quasi) parish, we had wonderful Jesuit friends and models, so when I discerned a vocation to religious life, I was convincingly drawn to the Jesuit Order.
As you approach your Sacerdotal Golden Jubilee on 5 April 2025, after celebrating your Diamond Jubilee as a Jesuit, you continue your ministry with great zeal and passion. Please comment on your current ministry?
From the day I had a personal life-changing faith-experience of “God’s love poured into my heart” (also known as “baptism in the Spirit”) on 11 Feb 1973 (after a 3-year long crisis of faith), I have been blessed by God with an overwhelming and fulfilling desire to teach God’s Word to more and more people. So though formally retired, I continue to accept invitations to preach retreats to clergy, religious and laity, and to write books on biblical spirituality.
- Pope Benedict XVI invited you to participate as an expert in the 2008 Synod of Bishops in Rome and you also participated in the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist in 2005. You have been awarded the Doctor of Ministry degree in Biblical Spirituality by the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Do you feel that you owe it to the Jesuits that you have been able to contribute so much to the life of the Church?
Invited by Pope Benedict XVI as an expert for the 2008 Synod and a participant in the 2005 Synod on the Eucharist, with a Doctor of Ministry in Biblical Spirituality from the Catholic Theological Union, do you feel being a Jesuit has enabled your deep contributions to the Church?
Of course! But for the understanding and encouragement of my Superiors (starting with local Provincials and all the way up to the Servant of God Fr Arrupe who allowed me to go to Rome to live in the Gregorian University Community and to work in a Vatican office from 1981-88), I could not have dreamt of the “great things God would do for me.”
- You are a former Director and Chairman of the International Council for Catholic Charismatic Renewal, resident in Rome. How did you become a “charismatic” and tell us about your experience in Rome.
During a crisis of faith when, though blessed with intelligence and a good memory, I failed an ordinary final exam (BSc-chemistry) because my mind unaccountably went blank as I walked (well-prepared) into the examination hall, and this happened three (!) times in consecutive years from 1968-72, and then gave up on prayer etc, no longer able to believe in God’s love for me, and questioning why “He” had apparently abandoned me, I was blessed with what we Jesuits call “my Cannonball experience” which is a totally gratuitous experience of God saying to me on 11 Feb 1973, “Fio, you are my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased!” Though I couldn’t understand how, instead of scolding me, my Father God was actually smiling at me, and appreciating me, a great fountain of joy sprang up from my heart and I shouted aloud, “Jesus, you are alive!” That was the beginning of my “charismatic” vocation and ministry, and that experience of being loved by God has never left me till today, though other trials and suffering have come my way.
In Rome I have had the privilege of meeting 4 Popes (St Pope Paul VI in 1975, St John Paul II very many times 1981-2004, Benedict XVI at the Synods, and Francis seven times). I have also met thousands of charismatic disciples of Jesus at the Leaders Conferences I organized and in my travels to National Charismatic Conferences in 84 countries.
- You have visited 84 countries to preach retreats or conduct Bible seminars and Leaders Conferences. So, you have influenced a large number of Catholics. How do you think your contributions have helped Catholics grow in their faith?
After visiting 84 countries to preach retreats and lead Bible seminars and conferences, how do you feel your work has helped Catholics deepen their faith?
After I retired from leadership of the Indian Charismatic Renewal in 2002, and I then earned a doctorate in Chicago in 2004, I have devoted my energies entirely to the Biblical Pastoral ministry, with my base being the Catholic Bible Institute, Mumbai (of which I am Founder & Chairman). From the feedback I have received and continue to receive from laity, religious and bishops, I feel consoled that my ministry has been very fruitful. This is because, though our Church gives great importance to God’s written Word in the Bible, in practice the whole emphasis has been only on our Eucharistic and Marian devotions. Most Catholics were, or still are, unfamiliar with the Scriptures and with the Catholic way of interpreting biblical texts. So, my work, together with Dr Renu Silvano OCV, and Deacon Inacin, and the late Fr Rufus Pereira, has happily been blessed by God. Many people have experienced the truth of Jesus’ words, “My words are spirit and life” (Jn 6:63), and the truth of the Second Vatican Council’s decree DEI VERBUM: “Such is the force and power of the Word of God that it can serve God’s People as strength for their faith, food for the soul, and a pure and lasting fount of spiritual life…” (n.21).
- You have authored 26 books, 9 in collaboration with Dr. Renu Rita Silvano. They have been published in several foreign languages and regional languages of India. Which of your books do you consider among the most significant?
Of your 26 books, including 9 co-authored with Dr Renu Rita Silvano and published in various foreign and Indian languages, which do you consider most significant?
They are God’s Best Ideas, Co-heirs With Christ, The Full Gospel, The Holy Spirit, God’s Word Nourishes and Broadening The Horizons Of Our Minds.
- You published three books in 2023. How did you manage to do that?
Because of the COVID pandemic, all travel for retreats, etc., was out of the question from 2020-22, also our Bible Institute was closed, so I had plenty of time!
- Tell us something about your latest books and by whom they are distributed.
The latest, co-authored with Dr Renu Silvano, is Life Of Jesus As Contemplated By Mary, published and available with the Daughters of St Paul, Mumbai. It is a beautiful, novel, and fully biblical re-construction of the Life of Christ, narrated by his Mother. Focusing on the Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary, it uses the Ignatian prayer method called Application of the Senses to contemplate the various events of the life of Christ.
The second latest is The Full Gospel – A Pauline Perspective, published by the Fathers of St Paul, Mumbai. As Archbp. Anil Couto of Delhi wrote in his review, “This precious book is a spiritual treasure which is not to be read once and kept aside but to be returned to again and again for our spiritual nourishment, especially in moments when strong negative currents from within and without tend to take us away from the path of the Gospel.”
Interviewed by Ms Janina Gomes
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