Father Lancelote Rodrigues, popularly known as Macau’s “refugee priest,” died in Kiang Wu Hospital Monday.
Macau Caritas Secretary General Paul Pun Chi Meng told The Macau Post Daily that he and several other members of the diocese were at Fr. Lancelote’s bedside when he passed away. Pun said that Fr. Lancelote died of cardiac insufficiency “with a smile on his face.”
Fr. Lancelote, who would have been 90 years old on December 21, was known for his amiable and sociable personality and refugee relief work since the late 1940s.
Born in Malacca in 1923, he moved to Macau at the age of 12 to study at the local seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1949.
In an interview shortly before receiving his doctor honoris causa, Fr. Lancelote said that being generous, courageous and having a great heart were the most important personal qualities when serving in the field of social welfare.
Fr. Lancelote became a UN representative for refugees in Macau, and he helped to resettle more than 8,000 Vietnamese refugees in different countries around the world.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On expressed his deepest condolences in an official statement. Chui praised Fr. Lancelote for his refugee relief work and social welfare activities.(macaunews)
