Pope Benedict XVI appointed Fr Theodore Mascarenhas, SFX, member of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses for a period of five years on 4th March.

Fr Mascarenhas, a Pilar Father who is currently based in Rome, is incharge of the Departments of Asia, Africa and Oceania at the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture.

Fr Mascarenhas has a Doctorate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontificio Instituto Biblico, Rome and a Professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome , the Pontifical St. Thomas University, Rome and the Pilar Theological College, Pilar, Goa.

Fr. Theodore comes from a very devout Catholic family from Camurlim-Salcete, Goa, The Mascarenhas family has given the Church two priests from among 4 children.

Rev Dr. Seby Mascarenhas SFX - the elder brother of Fr Theodore - is also in the Society of Pilar and has a doctorate in Dogmatic Theology from Freiburg University in Germany. Fr Seby is the former Rector of the Pilar Mission Seminary and is the Provincial of the Society's Mumbai Province. He also played an active role in the Diocesan Synod of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman and delivered the keynote address at the Goan Mission Congress held in Feb 2009.

Fr Mascarenhas is also closely coordinating the process for the beatification of Fr Agnelo with the postulator in Rome Fr Antonio Marrazzo.

The Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses is part of the Roman Curia of the Roman Catholic Church. The committee was constituted and erected in 1879 by Pope Leo XIII and which received approval of its updated Statutes in 1986 from Pope John Paul II.

One such International Eucharistic Congress was held in Mumbai in 1964, which was presided over by Holy Father Paul VI. The last Eucharistic Congress was held in Quebec, Canada in 2008 and the next one is scheduled to be held in Dublin in 2012.

According to its Statutes the pontifical committee examines proposals that are to be submitted to the Holy Father about the city where Congresses will be held. After the approval of the place for the celebration of a Congress it falls to the competency of the same committee also to study both the theme and programme of this event, which must likewise be approved by the pope.