Escutcheon
The Earth; The Hand; The Cross
Motto
Care For Creation
Symbolism
The background with the Cross supreme represents the Church of Christ; the hand stands for the care for all of creation, represented by the Earth. People, nature and the environment are interdependent which makes ‘care for creation’ paramount.
coat of arms
About Auxiliary
Bishop Allwyn D’Silva
Date of Birth: 20th April 1948
Place of Birth: Amboli, Mumbai
Parents: Roland and Rita D’Silva
Ordained Priest: 19th April 1975
APPOINTMENTS
1975 to 1983 - Assistant, St. Anthony’s Church, Vakola
1977 to 1983 - Vocation promoter in the Archdiocese of Bombay
1983 to 1986 - On the staff, National Vocation Service Centre, Pune
1986 to 1994 - Assistant Priest and later Parish Priest, St. Jude Church, Jeri -Meri
1991 to 1994 - Dean, South East Salsette Deanery
1994 to 2000 - Priest in-charge, St. Jude Church, Malad East
1994 to 2000 - Staff at St Pius X College, Goregaon
2000 to 2007 - Priest in-charge, St. Anthony’s Church, Dharavi
2002 to 2007 - Dean, North Mumbai Deanery
2007 to 2011 – Parish Priest, Our Lady of Nazareth, Bhayandar
2007 to 2011 – Dean of Bhayandar Deanery
2011 to 2017 - Parish Priest, St. John the Baptist Church, Thane
2012 - Appointed Episcopal Vicar
20th December 2016 - Appointed Auxiliary Bishop by His Holiness Pope Francis
28th January 2017 - Ordained Bishop by His Eminence, Oswald Cardinal Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay
Founder Director - Jagruti Kendra, Jerimeri; Documentation Research & Training Centre, Goregaon
Honorary Posts
• Former Regional Vice-president of International Human Rights Education Consortium (IHREC), USA;
• Former Chairperson of Justice and Peace Commission 1993-2013
• Former Board Member of Hotline - Asian Centre of People’s Progress (ACPP), Hong Kong;
• Former President of Mumbai Initiative on Human Rights Education (MIHRE), Mumbai
• Former Member of Executive Committee of Indian Network for Ethics and Climate Change (INECC);
• Former Coordinator of Prison Ministry in Mumbai
• Former Head of Archdiocesan Office for Environment
• Former Secretary of Climate Change Desk/Office for Human Development of Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences
Presently Holding the following posts:
• Chairperson, Prison Ministry of India
• Chairperson, Commission of Ecology, CCBI
• Member of the Executive Committee of Justice and Peace Commission, CBCI
• Bishop in-charge of Social Apostolate in the Archdiocese of Bombay
• Visiting Professor at St. Pius College, Goregaon (E)
AREAS OF ACTIVITIES
• For 21 years worked in the slums of Mumbai and was in touch with various issues of the slum people in Jerimeri and Dharavi. Was a pioneer in establishing Community Centres in Mumbai, where the Centres reached out to the poor in an organized manner through the following stages:
- Awareness Building
- Community Organisation leading to
- Mass Action
• Deeply involved in the Human Rights issues from the local to the national/regional & International level. Involved in the campaign against the Special Entertainment Zone (SEZ) in Uttan and together with the people was partly successful.
PUBLICATIONS AND PAPERS PRESENTED
• Co Editor of Eco-Ethic Bulletin 2001-2011
• (1995) Evaluation of Jagruti Kendra, Jerimeri, Mumbai
• Dr. John D’Mello, Prof. Ramachandran and Allwyn D’Silva (1996): Evaluation of Congregation of Helpers of Mary
• Dr Rudi Heredia and Allwyn D’Silva: Evaluation of Institute of Community Organization Research
• (1988) Women – Her Role, Her Status
• (1990) Co-edited Battling Earth’s Enemies
• (1994) Co edited Global Warming
• Article on Year of the Ocean in the Examiner,1998
• Promotion of Human Rights and Advocacy at the Consultation on Advocacy for Justice and Peace, Pattaya City, Thailand.
• “International Year of Peace”, in The Examiner, 29 Jan. 2000
• Inaugural Address on Human Rights Education at Convention in Navrachana College of Education, Vadodara in 2009
• Paper presented on Human Rights Education at UGC sponsored National Seminar on Human Rights Education on 24th December 2011 at Lala Lajpatrai College, Mumbai.
• Article on Year of Cooperatives in the Examiner, 2012
• Chief Guest at SNDT College of Arts & SCB College of Commerce and Science, Mumbai at the UGC sponsored State Level Seminar on “Human Rights: Women and the Marginalized on 10th December, 2012
• Article on Year of Water in the Examiner, 2013
• Paper presented at the Fourth Human Rights Education Conference, Taiwan on Environmental Rights Education in 2013
• Article on UN Year of Light in Examiner January 2015
AWARDS
• Federation of Centres for Community Organization awarded Allwyn D’Silva for his long, sincere and dedicated service to humanity and contribution to empower the marginalized and weaker sections of society on 17th December 2000.
• Bombay Catholic Sabha Award for excellence in 2005.
• Dignity Foundation Excellence Award for advancing the cause of Senior Citizens on 1st October 2008.
• The CPCI Award for excellence for untiring efforts in promoting Human Rights on 4th December 2008.
• World Peace Movement Trust Memento on 15th May 2010.
• The Examiner Awards for Journalism 2011. The Golden Pen Award to Allwyn D’Silva for his writings upon themes of social development and justice, peace, universal harmony in the Indian or international context in the print media.
officials
