Rev. Fr. Victor Silva crosses 75th birth anniversary milestone

MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THESE

By Francis D’Almeida

Rev. Fr. Victor Silva celebrated his 75th birth anniversary on 18th March 2023, in the chapel of the prestigious Subodhi Institute in Piliyandala, where he serves as Director.The writer, a close associate of his, goes down memory lane to capture salient features that throw light on the personality of this gentle shepherd.

As destiny would have it, I met Fr. Victor Silva when he was a new entrant and I a senior student at St. Aloysius Seminary in 1961. He was assigned to my refectory table of which I was called the “Captain”. My task was to teach five others in the group, table manners and spoken English. Despite being home –sick and perplexed by the vastness of the Seminary halls, I noticed that the 14 year old Victor showed signs of resilience and cleverness. As the years rolled by he emerged as a talented all-round Seminarian.

We parted our ways as I left the Seminary to be employed and he proceeded to the Major Seminary in Ampitiya. Frequently, I heard of his achievements there – including his emergence as a basketball trainer, coaching teams of Mahamaya Girls College, St. Anthony’s College, Kandy and the University (Peradeniya ) teams. Such a diversity would have been extremely daunting for him despite his enormous academic work (Philosophy and Theology). It is noteworthy that one of his female players became a famous National Netball Coach who moulded the Sri Lankan team to become Asian Champions twice-over.

One day I received a call from Brother Victor inviting me to conduct a week-end basketball coaching camp for the Ampitiya Seminary team. It spoke well for his organizing capabilities to ensure that every player attended all the sessions unfailingly. What was even more amazing was that he suggested I take a late evening practice session for the Senior Seminary choir in vocal and choral music. Brother Victor, then a senior Seminarian held the post of the Choir Master for four long years and was probably the reason for their well disciplined attitude throughout the practice session.

I met Rev. Fr. Victor once again when he was posted to the staff of St. Aloysius Seminary in the late sixties. I was then the Basketball Coach of that institute. I saw another notable personality trait of Fr. Victor when he often invited me to have a drink in his small apartment. Such a caring attitude was a manifestation of a kind and generous heart.

Time swiftly passed by and in 1997, I met him at the Easter Cantata Festival at St. Benedict’s College. It turned to be a significant encounter for me. It was then that he invited me to take-over the Choir of St. Joseph’s College as its trainer/director.

It was providential that he was at the helm of St. Joseph’s College as its Rector. As I arrived there, he understood my eccentric teaching and training methods which vocal and choral excellence demanded and where mediocrity stood detested.

Let me now define the lasting legacy of Rev. Fr. Victor Silva as the then Rector of St. Joseph’s College; which I was able to discern at close quarters. Indeed, he created a new environment where a cultural revolution could blossom forth. Under his tenure the somewhat fading Roman Catholic tradition of Latin Sacred as well as Choral Music gained a new impetus. The aspects of art, music and drama came to the fore enhanced by his own compositions of melodious Sinhala hymns.

Under his rector-ship, the College became a key center – a veritable Scola Cantorum- for the entire Archdiocese and even beyond. His singing ability was evident at the Memorial mass for Pope John Paul II as he joined the College choir in singing the traditional Requiem Aeternam chant at St. Lucia’s Cathedral.

Another noticeable attribute of his could be stated as his extra ordinary kindness and the generosity he manifested towards the students, teachers, staff and parents at all times. The College community responded in equal measure – which remains so even to this very day, whenever he visits St. Joseph’s College.

Years after he left the school, I was fortunate to meet him at St. John Mary Vianny Major Seminary at Mattakkuliya. Once again he sought my help to train the adult Seminarians (late vocations) numbering about sixteen, in vocal and choral music. Here too, he never failed to host me for meals as well as to encourage me in my work. As the Rector of this specially instituted Major Seminary in Mattakkuliya, he took a different path in training and moulding adults for priesthood. The secret was his keenness to be their role model at all times. Indeed, these Seminarians when they became priests stood out as zealous missionaries of the church.

In presenting the tapestry of Victor Silva’s life, there comes a less spoken of segment – his academic prowess. When I was the basketball coach of St. Joseph’s College in the early eighties, he invited me for a discussion on an area in Political Science. He was then a member of the College Staff whilst preparing for his BA degree in Economics, Philosophy and Political Science (final year). He knew that I was involved in the study of Marxist theory and its practice. He sought discussion with me on Karl Marx’s theory on the phenomenon of the “State”.

Having obtained his BA degree, Fr. Victor proceeded to London and earned the prestigious MA title in the field of Educational Psychology. In 2022 came the crowning moment of his academic excellence that gave him the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Education, which honor he received without much ado in a simple ceremony.

To conclude the narration of the episodes to depict his multifaceted personality, let me re-iterate that Rev. Fr. Victor Silva despite his 75 years of age still manifests his youthful gait – and go on to confirm that he is a knowledgeable, wise, gentle and generous personality who achieved great things through the simplest of all means.

Let me salute this noble priest of God with the apt Latin phrase:

AD MULTOS ANNOS