Dr. DiSouza held the Basilian Fathers Chair in Religion and Education at the University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto. He was named a Fellow of St. Michael’s College in October of 2014. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Theology from 2009 to 2014. He also served as President and Vice Chancellor of Assumption University, Windsor, earlier, and was a world leader in the field of religious education.
Fr. D’Souza was born in Karachi, Pakistan, in 1956, and moved to Canada as a young adult. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1991, celebrating his 25th anniversary of ordination last year. He began teaching at St. Michael’s Faculty of Theology in 1991, and, other than his time at Assumption (Jan., 2005-Aug., 2006), the Faculty remained his home until his death. He brought to the classroom a rich academic history of his own, having received degrees from Boston College, the University of St. Michael’s College, the University of Toronto, the University of Calgary, and University College, Dublin. A passionate educator and prolific researcher, Fr. D’Souza produced many works over the course of his career, his most recent being Catholic Philosophy of Education: The Church and Two Philosophers, published in October, 2016 by McGill-Queen’s University Press. Earlier this year, the process had begun to consider Fr. D’Souza for full professorship. Loved by his colleagues, his friends, and, most importantly, his students, Fr. Mario will be deeply missed.