The Capuchin Catholic religious order in India has donated the body of a member priest for medical research and studies, following the rare wish of the dead priest. Capuchin Father Xavier Vadakkekara, a former editor of the Catholic newsweekly Indian Currents, died in New Delhi at 72 on March 16. His body was handed over to New Delhi’s government-run All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences on March 18 “as per his last wish,” said Father Suresh Mathew, a confrere of the diseased priest. The last wish of Vadakkekara “reflects in his final act of generosity and lifelong commitment to serving humanity,” Mathew told UCA News March 19. Vadakkekara, who has been under treatment for partial blindness and had a complicated medical history for more than two decades, died at Holy Family Hospital in New Delhi while undergoing “treatment for acute respiratory insufficiency,” said an official statement from Capuchin order. Mathew, also a former editor of Indian Currents, remembered Vadakkekara as “a veteran journalist and editor known for his objectivity and great acumen for news.” He credited his senior confrere for mentoring and encouraging many journalists to work in various Indian media. “He left an indelible mark on the Catholic media landscape in India,” Mathew added.