The homes and hallways of Snehasadan—an organisation founded by a Spanish Jesuit back in 1962 to help street children build a better future—will always remember its ex-director Fr Placido Fonseca, 84, who helped shape and transform it into what it is today.

Fr Fonseca breathed his last on Saturday afternoon at St Elizabeth Hospital in Malabar Hill after having battled cancer for the last few months. He was an integral part of the organisation from 1970 to 2013. He held the post of director from 1974-2002 and again from 2005 to 2013. He was succeeded by the current director Fr Noel Pinto, 48.