Brother Vincent Sequeira, cfc
Vincent
Sequeira was born on 14th February 1975, the son of Alexander and
Benedicta Sequeira who lived in Bajpe.
They had five children, Priscilla, Elias Prakash, Vincent, Wilfred and
Melwyn, all of whom were students of St. Joseph’s
High School, and, except for those who needed to do Science, the P.U. College
as well.
Vincent
was sufficiently impressed by what he saw of the life of the Christian Brothers
that he decided to be a Brother himself.
He loved the life of the Brothers.
He enjoyed the sports and games that were part of the life he had
adopted. He set to work on developing
his musical talent and his keen interest in crafts, in addition to his academic
pursuits. Every card he made for
someone’s special occasion was unique
- it spoke of thoughtful concern
for an individual.
On
the occasions that he visited home, he was the life and soul of the
family. He brought his fine musical
sense to family gatherings. He sought
out his sisters and brothers and their families. His letters home were regular, and the family
eagerly awaited them : he was in touch
with every little detail of the life of each member of the family. He even offered advice about things like
employment opportunities and travel arrangements. He remembered every individual’s birthday,
and wedding anniversaries : he would
make a special card with his own hands, artistically decorated, and send it in
time for the day.
It
had become obvious to him, even before he took up his assignment as a teaching Brother
in St. Mary’s Orphanage, Dum Dum, that he suffered from an affliction that was beyond the capability of
doctors to cure. He was in extreme pain,
for many months at a time. One operation
was performed : it gave him some relief,
but within a few months the problem recurred.
Doctors were apologetic that further operations were likely only to
cause more misery. He learned to live
with this truth.
However,
he faithfully continued to communicate with his family in his regular
letters. He made strenuous efforts to
conceal his discomfort and pain from them.
In the last letters he wrote home, he describes the reopening of
School. He says that Brothers and staff
had given him a good time on his birthday, but that he had tried to avoid them
! He refers to the Sports Day on
the 18th of February 2001 : that he ran in the relay, (barely concealing
his pride that the Brothers’ team won).
He did concede that he felt quite tired at the end of the day, and
wanted to rest. But he expressed his
concern for his brother Wilfred, who was about to attend an interview for a
job. Far from being low in spirits, he
expressed the hope that he would go to the Brothers’ school in Kurseong for the
summer holidays which were coming soon.
His
Master had other plans for him. The pain
increased to the point where it was quite unbearable. The only treatment available was
palliative. And he fell asleep in the
Lord on the 18th of March 2001. His
grieving family requested the Brothers to bring his remains to Bajpe, which
they did. And now he rests in the parish
cemetery, with the Irish Brother Elphege McLoughlin and the Australian Brother
Justinian Harrison for company.
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