Vasco do Rego SJ (8 January 1925 – 17 February 2021)[1] was an Indian Jesuit priest who played a significant role in the promotion of Konkani language, literature and music, particularly after the Annexation of Goa.
In January 2015, at the time of the canonisation of Joseph Vaz, the first Goan saint, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Rego was credited with writing the lyrics to the hymn Jose Vaza, Amchea Bhava (Jose Vaz, Our Brother), which was put to music by Fr.
This hymn was sung[4] at the Mass where Pope Francis elevated the Goan missionary who worked in Ceylon to the altar and which can be heard at about 2:30:48 into this recording.
He has been a member of the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits since 1945, was ordained priest in Belgium in 1955, and was inspired by his theologian-teacher Fr Pierre Charles, S.J.
Rego was the Rector of Goa's famed Bom Jesus Basilica, where the remains of saint Francis Xavier reside, during which period many prominent global figures visited this shrine, among them being Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher, Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, President Mario Soares of Portugal, Russian and Indian cosmonauts and Pope John Paul II.