Terence D'Souza

Who is Terence D'Souza?

Terence D'Souza was born in 1932 in Jacobabad, Sindh, British India. After school in Karachi, he chose to became a priest, received religious training at the Christ the King Seminary and was ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi in 1960.

From 1960-68 he was Secretary to the Archbishop of Karachi, and from 1968-70 Secretary to the Papal Nuncio. From 1970-75 he served as Editor of the Christian Voice, and in 1973 was appointed Vicar General of Karachi. He has also been parish priest of the Landhi parish.

In 1975 he accepted an offer by Bishop Fulton to come to Toronto, Canada, because of the significant number of Pakistanis that had emigrated to this region. He served as Associate Pastor at Our Lady of the Airways Parish in Malton, moved to Pope John XXIII Parish in Don Mills as Pastor, and finally was asked to start a new parish in Mississauga which he canvassed to have named St. Francis Xavier Church.

His commitment to the community was publicly recognized by the City Council in 1999 when the street outside the church was named Father D'Souza Drive.

A strong believer in education, D'Souza decided to run for Trustee in the Dufferin Peel Separate School Board after receiving approval from Cardinal Carter. He was elected twice and served between 1988 and 1994.