Andhra Pradesh loses veteran Spanish missionary who helped millions

Church people in Andhra Pradesh on Friday mourned the death of a veteran Spanish missionary who dedicated last 55 years for the service of over 2 million poor people in the country.

Vicente Ferrer, founder of an NGO and a former Jesuit, died at the age of 89 at his home in Anantapur in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

Born in Barcelona in 1920, he arrived in Mumbai in 1952 as a Jesuit missionary who devoted the rest of his life "to working to eradicating the suffering of the poorest in the country."

In Anantapur, Ferrer's Rural Development Trust and Vicente Ferrer Foundation created thousands of homes, several hospitals, hundreds of schools and thousands of water wells.

Ferrer was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of civil merit last year by the government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. He received Spain's top distinction, the Prince of Asturias Concorde prize in 1988.

In a condolence message, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y S Rajasekhar Reddy called Ferrer as an "icon of nobility, humility and veracity who has put in 56 yeas of relentless work in India."

Ferrer dedicated his life and worked for the poor especially the Dalits, tribals, weaker sections, women and disabled, the chief minister said.

His contribution to the development of people of Anantapur district and partly Kurnool district will be long remembered, he added.