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Fr.
Santan Pinto, born in Surendranagar, in the
Northern state of Gujrat on September 13th 1948.
He spent his early childhood in Goa, situated
on the southwestern coast of India. Old Goa
is the place where the body of St. Francis Xavier
lies for public veneration. His father Ignatius
died in 1957 when Fr. Pinto was only 9 years
old.
His Mother Annie lives in Belgaum. He has only
one sister, Patsy. She with her husband Angus
Vaz live in Velim, Goa. After completing high
school in Belgaum, he joined the Jesuits in
1966. He received a Master's degree in Social
Work in 1975. He was ordained to the priesthood
on April 30th, 1977. |
After
his ordination, Fr. Pinto heard this call: "Go to
America. I want you to serve there." After leaving
the Jesuits in 1982, he tried for the next five years
to visit America. During a Catholic charismatic conference
in 1987, his mother handed him to the care of our
Blessed Mother by saying: "From today onwards, I offer
you to Mary. She will be your Mother."
After that day, God provided Fr. Pinto with the means
to visit the USA, and on May 15, 1987, Fr. Pinto arrived
in New York. Later that year, he joined the Society
of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT). He went
through the novitiate in 1988. Since that time, he
was the formation director of the SOLT community,
forming priests, seminarians, brothers, sisters and
lay persons in their respective vocations. He was
assisted by religious sisters and lay apostles.
The
Lord called Fr. Pinto to his service as a little child.
His only desire was to remain close to the Lord. It
is this love of God that burns in his heart for all.
Fr. Pinto worked for some time with Mother Theresa.
It was Mother Theresa who taught Fr. Pinto, in 1971
to recognize Jesus in the poor. Mother Theresa once
said to him: "Remember father, that it is the humility
of God that made you a priest. Now never forget that!"
And his Mother often reminds him: "Be humble, kind
and remember you were ordained a priest to serve the
poor!"
In 1992, Fr. Pinto began SOLT Ministries for the purpose
of:
- Supporting
SOLT world-wide Missions.
- Supporting
seminarians, sisters, and laity in their formation
and training.
- Producing
and distributing various relevant training materials,
audios, videos, and books for spiritual development.
- Providing
a prayer line for interested persons where they
can send in their prayer requests.
- Providing
healing services and missions to cities in the U.S.
when requested by local Bishops and pastors.
- Attending
conferences and conducting pilgrimages.
- Praying
for the souls in purgatory.
- Conducting
retreats and training programs for all interested
in developing spiritually.
- Giving
spiritual direction and guidance whenever possible.
On March 18th, 2005 Fr. Pinto was sworn in as an American
citizen.
