My name is Albano Da Costa. I was born, grew up and educated in Goa, India. At the age of 17, I joined the Divine Word Missionaries at SVD Mission Seminary, Raia, Goa, in June 1995 and completed my novitiate in 2002. I did my studies in philosophy at SVD Vidhya Bhavan, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh from 2003-2004 after which I obtained a Masters in Philosophy from RDVV University in Jabalpur. After my Masters, I lectured in the subject areas such as the Indian concept of God (Indian Theism), Introduction to Indian Philosophy and Indian Classical Systems in two of our regional philosophates in Bhopal, India. After my initial experience in teaching and formation, I underwent four years of Theological training in Jana Deepa Vidyapeeth (JDV), Pune, India. I was ordained priest on 10th May 2011. After ordination, I received my first mission assigned to the Australian province of the SVD and spent four years working in the Catholic parishes of Wainuiomata, Petone, Waiwhetu, and Eastbourne in the Lower-Hutt Valley in Wellington, New Zealand. While in Wellington, I was appointed as the board member for Caritas New Zealand by NZCBC, and member of the Council of Priests in the Archdiocese of Wellington. In April 2015, I was given the approval to pursue higher studies in Rome where I learnt the Italian language and did my licentiate in missiology (mission studies) at the Pontifical Gregorian University from 2015-2017. After obtaining my license degree, I moved to London and underwent further training in academic writing skills, Studies in European Society and Comparative Studies in Culture at the School of African and Oriental Studies (SOAS), the University of London in the UK. While at SOAS, I received an unconditional offer to pursue higher studies at the University of Oxford.
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