Faith, diplomacy and a papal blessing

Herald Malaysia

18-07-2025

In conjunction with his 80th birthday recently, former Malaysian ambassador to Italy, Dato' Ramanathan Vengadesan published his autobiography, Triumphs and Tragedies: Village Boy to Globe-Trotting Ambassador. Jul 18, 2025
The family at Sharon's First Holy Communion at St Anthony's church in Brussels, Belgium in 1987.
By Vincent D'SilvaIn conjunction with his 80th birthday recently, former Malaysian ambassador to Italy, Dato' Ramanathan Vengadesan published his autobiography, Triumphs and Tragedies: Village Boy to Globe-Trotting Ambassador. It is a fascinating account of how a young boy lived through the final months of the Japanese occupation of Malaya, the Communist Emergency, the Confrontation and the 1969 racial riots to play his part in building a new nation. Vengadesan served as Malaysia's ambassador to Mali, Senegal, Namibia and Italy. He was in the latter post from 1997 to 2000 and actually met the famous Pope John Paul II during that time. A member of Malaysia's small Brahmin community, he tells of the challenges of the era in which he grew up: how his family briefly moved back to India and then back again; how, like other Malaysians, they had to face up to the incredible hardships of the Emergency, and the 1969 race riots. Vengadesan married Christie Gonzales, a devout Roman Catholic, and he developed a keen interest in interfaith understanding. 'There was much negotiation about our marriage, and we decided that both of us would retain our individual religions but even though we had a 'mixed marriage' we would marry in church and the children would be baptised Catholics and raised in that faith,' he told Herald. 'In the end, there was a church wedding on April 5, 1972 at St Francis Xavier, Petaling Jaya. Both families were fully in attendance, although I always joked that Christie and I were the only ones smiling on the occasion! There was no denying that the overall mood of the families was one of reluctant acceptance,' recalled Vengadesan. He writes that the marriage was solemnised by the kind-hearted Jesuit priest, Fr John Wood who gave the full Mass ceremony, choicest marital blessing, select sacred hymns, organ music and placed the young couple at the high altar, which was not usually allowed for mixed marriages such as theirs. 'In keeping with my promise to Christie, the children were baptised in their infancy. Martin's baptism was performed by Fr Richard Hope, the Catholic chaplain of the American Embassy, at his simple office in Moscow in the presence of my mother-inlaw Victoria, Christie and myself. 'In Belgium, we were also part of the Roman Catholic community through the Church of St Anthony in Kraainem which had a predominantly Irish population and thus was English-speaking unlike the majority of churches which held Mass in French or Flemish,' he said. The couple's three children also attended Sunday school there, with Sharon receiving her First Holy Communion and Martin and Joanne receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. He said he had no problems reconciling raising a family with two religions. 'My religious beliefs are rather unique, but they make sense to me. I am comfortable going to both the church and the temple. I am grateful to God for His many blessings and have a strong faith, but am fully accepting of both Hindu and Christian teachings. Maybe it is a reflection of my diplomatic mindset that I came to settle on a middle ground on a topic that usually polarises other people,' he said. An undoubted highlight was the meeting with Pope John Paul II when Vengadesan was ambassador to Italy. 'This was not a private audience but one in which myself, Christie, Victoria and Sharon were presented to His Holiness on his Wednesday public appearance at St Peter's Square. 'It was the highlight of Victoria's visit to Rome; indeed, a highlight of her life, as a devout Roman Catholic. 'What I recall was the look of kindness, tenderness and love as he raised his eyes to look at mine. His Holiness was already suffering from severe Parkinson's disease but he had a clear intellect and sharpness of mind; a special interest in Malaysia was evident in his conversation, as Malaysia was not officially accredited to the Vatican yet,' said Vengadesan. He also recalled the beautiful churches in Rome, saying that the one that he admired most was San Giovanni in Laterano, a historical part of Rome. 'Another one was the Santa Maria Maggiore which is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, and where the late Pope Francis chose to be buried. And, of course, in the heart of the Vatican is the monumental St Peter's Basilica, which displays Michaelangelo's Pieta. Another notable church, said Vengadesan was the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, which is believed to hold precious remnants of the true cross and nails. So apart from the grand and bountiful display of architectural styles, there are sacred relics and miraculous icons in these basilicas which are revered by Catholics. 'Another which I must hasten to mention is the Scala Santa (Sanctuary of the Holy Stairs), where pilgrims and devotees go on their knees to the top of the steps, symbolic of the stairs that Jesus Christ climbed to appear before Pontius Pilate before being sentenced to death,' said Vengadesan. Another interesting aspect was how differently Mass was celebrated when the family was in Africa. 'As a non-Catholic I admired the fact that wherever we lived and worshipped, it was the one and same liturgy of the Holy Mass; the only uniqueness was in the music which had a distinct local flavour. 'While we lived in Dakar, Senegal and Windhoek, Namibia we enjoyed sacred African music on the drums during Mass. The beat was always joyful and lively and the congregation wore colourful native African attire which had large prints of Jesus or Mary. 'The liturgy was invariably that of the universal Church; the language English or Italian or French; although the Gloria, or Sanctus and Agnus Dei might be sung in Latin,' he said.He said that his wife Christie also had a voluntary, part-time radio show on Radio Ecclesia Namibia, which would broadcast children's stories. She used to read folktales from native West African writers which taught young children morals and values. Vengadesan who just turned 80 had a heart procedure in 2022. He has had to slow down and is no longer able to attend a full Mass. "For around 50 years, I was able to attend weekly mass, usually on Sunday mornings. However, in recent times I found that I was only able to sit down as kneeling and standing became difficult. "Nowadays I only attend on special feast days but it has always meant a lot to me,' he added.
Aside from this, there were many close friendships formed with those in the Church. said Vengadesan, pointing to Christie's former principal the late Sr Enda Ryan, FMM, her mentor at Sentul Convent Sister Elizabeth, former parish priests the late Frs Peter Kim, SJ and Paul Decroix, MEP and Archbishop Tan Sri Murphy Nicholas Xavier Pakiam.