By Lydia Lobo

Mangalore, Jan 29: God the Holy Spirit Church, Bajal, celebrated its 70th anniversary with spiritual and cultural programmes organized by the parishioners under the leadership of  parish priest Fr Cyril Pinto.

Bishop of Mangalore Diocese Fr Aloysius Paul D’Souza celebrated the thanksgiving Eucharistic mass. The Bishop honoured the former parish priests for their valuable service and the gathering remembered with gratitude all the people who have rendered their service to the parish  as vice-president, secretary, and ward ‘Gurkars’.

Monsignor Dennis Prabhu presided over the cultural programme. Mangalore South MLA J R Lobo and Roy Castelino, president of Konkani Prachar Sanchalan, were the chief guests.   Lobo was honoured  by the Vicar General for being elected as MLA.

He addressed the gathering saying that this is a very good opportunity to celebrate where all the parishioners come together as one family. Castelino expressed the importance of speaking,  learning, and giving priority to our mother tongue Konkani.

Various competitions were held as part of the celebration and prizes were distributed to the winners by the chief guests. Various cultural programmes were also organized by the parishioners. A Konkani drama ‘Platform No.3’ written by Arun Raj was enacted by Kalakul team. Parish  priest Fr Cyril Pinto, vice-president Alwyn D’Souza and secretary  Michael Patrick Lobo were present on the dais.

Before this parish came into existence, this area belonged to Rosario Cathedral. To provide education to the poor people of Bajal, they started a primary school in 1917 dedicated to St Joseph. 

In the year 1943, Fr Leo Cutinha, with the permission of late Bishop Victor Fernandes took the responsibility of building a church in Bajal. On January 1, 1944, the late Bishop Victor Fernandes gave the decree to open the church. Fr Cutinha was the first parish priest of God the Holy Spirit Church, Bajal. Until today, 14 parish priests have served the parish and given selfless service to the people by attending to the spiritual and moral needs of the people.