From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Vatican City, Apr 28: Bangalore Archbishop Dr Bernard Moras joined the over 2,500 prelates from all over the world, who participated in the canonization mass of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II, who were raised to the altar by Pope Francis at a solemn, historic and unprecedented ceremony at St Peter’s Square, in which retired Pope Benedict XVI too took part.
Archbishop Moras, who had the rare honour of concelebrating at the canonisation mass, has in a message from Rome, indicated that he had the privilege of greeting the Cardinals from India including Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Cardinal Allencherry and Cardinal Cleemis immediately after the ceremony.
Vatican has estimated that over 800 million pilgrims and an unprecedented number of Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops participated in the canonization Mass and the ancient rite of canonization in which the Pope declared and defined that his predecessors be enrolled among the saints and that they be venerated as such by the whole Church.
Over 500 people from the Bangalore Archdiocese, including several priests, attended the ceremony.
Prominent among the priests, who attended the ceremony from the Bangalore Archdiocese, are: Msgr Jayanathan, Vicar General, Rev Fr Anthonyswamy, Chancellor and Dean of St Francis Xavier Cathedral, Rev Fr A Michael, Rector of Infant Jesus Shrine, Viveknagar, Fr Sagayanathan, Parish Priest. St Patrick’s Church, Fr Varghese, Parish Priest, Our Lady of Lourdes Church, White Field, Fr Chris Vimalraj and Fr Cyril Victor, both Post-Graduate Priests Studying in Rome, Fr Alphonse Bhaskar, Parish Priest, Blessed John Paul Church, Channasandra, Fr John Abraham, Judicial Vicar of Archdiocese and Fr Josesph Abraham, Director of Palana Bhavan.