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TRIBUTE TO GOA’S ECO-PRIESTS!By Dr Olav & Deborah Albuquerque
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TRIBUTE TO GOA’S ECO-PRIESTS!By Dr Olav & Deborah Albuquerque

May 30- June 05, 2026, Tribute May 29, 2026 , by

The late Fr Bolmax Pereira who died of a heart attack on May 26, 2026 at the age of 50, was a green warrior who mentored the agitation against double-tracking and he took students back to the paddy fields

THE untimely passing of Father (Dr) Bolmax Pereira has once again brought to light the intense vulnerabilities faced by religious leaders who stand up against powerful lobby groups in Goa. At just 50 years old, Father Bolmax suffered a fatal heart attack at the state-run Goa Medical College (GMC) in Bambolim. His demise occurs nearly 11 years after the suspicious drowning of fellow activist-priest Bismarque Dias in the Mandovi river, a tragedy that continues to be heavily contested.
Fr Bolmax served as a resource faculty member and adjudicator for various environmental education initiatives, including the Children’s Science Congress, National Green Corps, Wipro Earthian Sustainability Program, and awareness programs conducted by the Goa State Council for Science and Technology. The unspoken point is that by naming and shaming the top dignitaries of this tiny state for allegedly planning an attack upon him, did he create unbearable stress for himself?
He named and shamed a Catholic MLA for allegedly planning the entry of an ultra-right-wing group to attack and humiliate him. He called this politician a “Sanghi.” Many politicians worship at both churches and temples, with even one Catholic priest visiting a shrine to the God of wisdom of another faith, which contradicts the first commandment. This declares there is one God and a Catholic cannot worship other gods, although Catholics can respect and have deference for the faith of others.
THIS is a hard truth which cannot be countenanced. God belongs to all who worship Him irrespective of the external forms and symbols. Nevertheless, there are the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam which enjoin the worship of a single God. These are contentious points because religion is an intensely private and personal matter exploited by politicians to create divisions in society based on caste, creed and community.

A Legacy of Faith and Science
FATHER Bolmax’s unique background set him apart from traditional clergy. Holding a doctorate in botany, he effectively bridged the gap between academic science and grassroots environmentalism (p. 1). As an Assistant Professor of Botany at Cortalim’s St Joseph Vaz College, he instilled a deep ecological awareness in his students. Furthermore, as the head of the Diocesan Commission on Ecology, he translated Pope Francis’s green encyclical, Laudato Si’, into direct community action He regularly used music and local culture as tools to frame nature’s destruction as a profound moral crisis.
His sudden death sent shockwaves through Goan society, drawing unified grief from people across all religious and generational divides (p. 1). Before his hospitalization, Father Bolmax collapsed at the Vasco da Gama railway station while organizing a parish picnic. Though he briefly stabilized at Daffodils Hospital and later GMC, a subsequent massive cardiac arrest proved fatal.

Decades of Defending the Soil
KNOWN widely as the “Green Priest,” Father Bolmax was a frontline defender against aggressive corporate encroachment. His key environmental battles included:
• Anti-Coal Agitations: Leading public resistance against double-tracking railway lines meant for bulk coal transport through the Western Ghats.
• Amche Mollem Movement: Mobilizing thousands of citizens to shield Goa’s critical biodiversity hotspots from destructive infrastructure projects.
• Agricultural Revitalization: Launching the Chicalim Youth Farmers’ Club and the “You Sow You Eat” campaign to re-engage youth in cultivating traditional khazan lands and restoring mangrove networks.
What truly separated Father Bolmax from other activists was his courage to name names (p. 2). He went public with the identities of influential figures he believed fabricated a criminal FIR against him, making him a major target for vested real estate and mining interests.

Echoes of Father Stan Swamy and Global Parallels
THE systemic pressures on Father Bolmax echo the struggles of other human rights defenders, such as Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy. The 84-year-old tribal rights champion died in custody at a Mumbai hospital in 2021 after contracting COVID-19 at Taloja Central Jail. Suffering from severe Parkinson’s disease, Father Swamy was infamously denied basic amenities like a drinking straw by prison authorities. Like Father Bolmax, Father Swamy had turned down advanced academic prospects in Europe to dedicating his life to marginalized communities.
Because of this pattern of early deaths among activist clergy, local citizens have drawn parallels to St Oscar Romero, the Salvadoran archbishop assassinated for fighting state-backed oppression.

The Path Forward
FATHER Bolmax’ funeral service was held at Holy Cross Church in his ancestral town of Quepem, drawing an enormous cross-section of Goan society. While his death leaves a massive void in the state’s environmental landscape, his legacy survives through the functioning youth clubs and ecosystem restoration projects he left behind. The ultimate test for Goa’s green movement will be whether these community initiatives can sustain their momentum without their primary leader.

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