SHILLONG: Fr Paulson Mundanmani used to drive Archbishop Dominic Jala around whenever he visited him at Oakland, California and they would safely reach the destinations.
However, Fr. Paulson, the parish priest of Christ King Church, was away when the Archbishop visited Oakland this time.
“Archbishop Dominic never drove a car, and so always depended on others for driving him around. During those years, there wasn’t a single day when I did not drive him somewhere”, Fr Paulson said.
Fr. Paulson on Wednesday said that Archbishop Dominic Jala and Fr. Mathew Vellankal, who also died in the accident, were his best friends. Fr. Mathew was driving the vehicle when it hit a truck resulting in the casualty.
Fr Paulson was in the city on Wednesday to take part in the funeral of Jala.
Later in a Facebook post, Fr. Paulson wrote, “Archbishop Dominic and I shared a friendship that goes back 30 plus years, when he was my Liturgy professor and friend.And then we worked together for many years in the Don Bosco technical school where he was the Director; and I served as General Manager or administrator.
Those were years when we cemented our friendship and learned to love and respect each other even more”.
Jala’s mother and siblings lived five miles away from the school, and “we would visit his mother almost every 3-4 days, sit around the fire in the kitchen.
I knew all his siblings and nephews and nieces. When I went to the United States, Archbishop made it a priority to visit me almost every year, and spend time with the community I was serving.
In fact, from Fremont to Pleasant Hill, most communities of faith remember Archbishop Jala as a humble man who had no pretension.
According to Fr Paulson, he was a priest among the priests.
“In an age of clericalism, he was my hero because he lived servant leadership to its fullest. He joined me in hiking, backpacking and many other leisurely activities in US”, he said.
