Aniceto Nazareth

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Aniceto Nazareth (1938–2021) was a Roman Catholic priest in Mumbai who loved music. He was a composer and liturgist who helped churches sing with understanding and reverence.

He was born in Bombay as the youngest of 14 children. His parents, both violinists, encouraged music every day. Aniceto learned by listening and playing with his brothers, giving his first piano recital at age seven and later playing the organ in church. He also made recordings for radio. He had little formal musical training, but he studied the great classical masters by ear and became skilled at arranging music for choirs.

After earning a degree in Medical Biology from St Xavier’s College, he joined the seminary, studied philosophy and theology, and was ordained on 21 December 1966 by Cardinal Valerian Gracias. The era of the Second Vatican Council influenced his work, pushing him to modernize liturgy. He studied liturgy in Rome and returned to Bombay to teach at the seminary. He revived the Archdiocesan Liturgy Committee and served as its secretary for about 30 years, and he was a member of the English Music Censors board.

Aniceto wrote accessible books to teach liturgy and helped people understand its renewal after Vatican II. He organized the Proclaimers, a liturgical choir that sang in five voices to invite everyone to participate, and he trained ministers and cantors across Mumbai and beyond. He also helped introduce the revised Missal in 2011, creating new Mass settings based on classic music to be easy for the congregation to sing.

Even after retirement, he continued to compose and teach about music and liturgy from the parish house of St. Joseph in Umerkhadi. He remained active until 2020. Aniceto Nazareth passed away on 8 March 2021 at Shanti Avedna Hospice in Bandra, Mumbai, leaving a lasting legacy in liturgical music and ministry.