Innumerable are the people who will grieve the passing of Father Aniceto Nazareth into eternity. Priests, nuns and lay folk alike will miss the man who made music flow like a paen to the Lord and like a shower of soothing comfort on troubled souls.

Long innings…

From Organist at the 38^th International Eucharistic Congress at the Oval in 1964 to Director of the Papal Choir for the Apostolic Visit of Saint John Paul II to Bombay in 1986, Aniceto could be said to have come a long way! Father Aniceto made music come alive not merely by his compositions and conducting but by giving choristers a kind of a grounding in the nuances of sacred music that emanate from understanding what the Liturgy was all about.

Not one to hog the limelight, Aniceto studiously trained laymen and women to conduct choirs as was evident from the fact that we had no less than 4 lay persons conducting the huge 5-voice choir that lead a massive congregation in active participation in the Pontifical Mass at Shivaji Park with such verve that, after the dust had settled on the Papal Visit, on the request of a large of choristers, he decided to form what came to be known as the Proclaimers choir which went about demonstrating across the archdiocese how soulful choral singing could lead the congregation to benefit tremendously from active, wholehearted participation in the celebration of the very source and summit of all Christian worship, viz, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Along the way he so encouraged more lay folk to take to conducting, that I myself had the joy and privilege of conducting the Proclaimers in singing “Blessed are you Lord, Holy, Holy, Holy” and “You are the chosen generation” in several parishes.

Creativity in Liturgy and music

Father Aniceto was an organist par excellence. Any wonder then that he conducted Keyboard workshops that went on to help a number of youngsters to learn to play the Organ at a measly fraction of what one would pay professional trainers. As a composer he was without peer in that he showed us how to take the classics and adapt them to church music needs, as he did with Handel’s Hallelujah for the Gospel acclamation.

The passionate love of Father Aniceto for music was inseparable from his love for the Church’s Liturgy. Deeply desirous of infusing all and sundry with that love, he went on to initiate the Basic Course in Liturgy that made the Liturgy of the Mass come through as so meaningful as to instill in those of us who participated in that course a lifelong love for the beauty and nuances of the Mass. As one of the 10 to have graduated with Honours from the course, I had the joyful privilege of being one of the four to speak at the graduation function presided over by Bishop Bosco Penha, my topic being “Dabar” - the ‘good word’.

As grateful hearts made graceful music…

The function held at the Seminary three years ago to felicitate him on his 80^th birthday was an amazing experience, witnessing not merely lay-folk but priests and bishops putting in their best into the choral music festival that the evening turned out to be. It was obvious that Father Aniceto Nazareth had had a tremendous impact on a cross-section of Catholics, an impact that wouldn’t be forgotten in a hurry. Clearly, his departure from our midst leaves a void difficult to fill – for the simple reason that they don’t make liturgists and musicians like him anymore.

Until we meet again

Au revoir Father Aniceto. As you ascend the stairs to your rightful place in the presence of the Lord, there to rest in peace, may the angels go with you, singing with you as you go to take the place where Heavenly music waits for the golden Midas touch that the Lord himself has blessed your fingers with. Indeed. Though our hearts ache at your going, we rejoice that He, who you lead so many to make music to, has called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. And when you are finally in His presence, remember before him us whose lives you’ve so lovingly touched by showing us the reality of His presence in Time. Amen. And until we join you in your Heavenly chorus…. Hallelujah.

By Ladislaus Louis D’Souza

The writer Ladislaus Louis D’Souza, is an Editor by profession, working with St Paul’s/ Better Yourself Books for the last 22 years. A regular contributor to periodicals like In Christo and The Secular Citizen, he was felicitated for his prowess at the written word by St Pauls in 2014 and by the Indian Catholic Press Association in 2016.