Fundació privada ADA Món Adivasi

To all of Fr Sopena's/ADA friends.

With heartfelt sadness & pain I inform you about the passing away yesterday 25 Jan'17 evening of our beloved Fr Federico Sopena. His funeral mass will be at 4pm today 26 Jan'17 at Holy Family Church, Andheri (East) followed by burial at the adjacent cemetery. Until then, during the day of 26Jan'17 he will be laying restfully from 9am to 3pm at Vinayalaya.

Some of you have been informed on phone/mobile/smses/whatsapp/etc. about the above details, yet I wish to place on record my tributes to him being a great human being & a pure soul.

I have conveyed my condolences to the Sopena family members now visiting Mumbai & also to other members including ADA members in Spain, which I share some extracts herein:

Dear Juanjo Sopena....... my condolences to all the grieving members of fr fede's family/friends... my heartfelt sympathies on this great loss.... I have personally lost a wonderful friend/guide/mentor to me... he was a living saint & now become an eternal life saint... I have known fr fede since 1973 from the tara days & was associated with him & his mission projects in many ways... I will miss him.... the void cannot be filled... but through his great works he will live on forever.... sharing your sorrow.... in sadness & pain macario.

My personal tribute to Fr Sopena can be briefly summed up as:
........One of my super-heroes passed away today evening.... fr federico sopena, a jesuit priest, age 91+ years... spanish-origin, came to india when he was just 20 years of age & remained here serving the marginalized/poor/tribals/etc. for over 70 years... made mumbai/raigad his home base... after struggling for over 50 years finally got indian citizenship in 2016 which reflects his passion to serve india & those that deserve to be served... I have been associated with him since 1973, my college days at St Xaviers College being in the Social Service League serving neighbouring/outskirts of mumbai... he & I shared being trustees on boards of many social welfare organizations... I considered him a living saint whose great works will live on...such a person leaves a great legacy & becomes legendary for future generations to imbibe... legacies that last forever as he touched/transformed many persons... he was instrumental in shaping much of my outlook in life as I considered him my guide/friend/mentor.... I have been very fortunate to have been associated with him... made life worthy... I will miss him for all the goodness that we shared.... rip.... in sorrow macario.

Looking forward to continue the great & good work that Fr Sopena dedicated almost his entire life in the service of humankind.

In sadness Macario