Pics: Joshwa D'Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (JD)
Mangaluru, Jan 13: The golden jubilee celebration of St John Baptist Church, Permude culminated with a colourful cultural ceremony along with handing over of a house to a family and launching of medical funds for the needy, in the church premises on Wednesday, January 13.
Bishop of Mangaluru diocese, Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza was the main celebrant of the festive mass, with vicar of Pezar deanery Fr Remezeus Aranha, parish priest Fr Edwin Correa and 30 other priests as concelebrants.
In his presidential address, Bishop Dr Aloysius called upon the faithful to unite as a family on the values taught by Christ. "From the last 50 years, this church has been the epitome of Christian faith. I call upon more youths from the church to serve the Catholic Church as priests and nuns.”
"Today, you have done two noble things - providing home to the needy and instituting the medical funds for the poor. By helping the needy, we can inculcate the values of Christ," he added.
Minister for fisheries and youth welfare, Abhaychandra Jain was the chief guest for the cultural programme which took place soon after the festive mass.
Jain launched the medical fund and symbolically handed over a replica of the house to a family on the occasion. He hailed the contribution of Christian community to the district and said, "Fifty years ago, this place was a barren land. But the people of the Catholic community have toiled hard to make the place an agricultural land. The district is literate and forward in health facilities because of the Christian community and its selfless service.
"As a minister of this region, I want to announce that we will organize an international-level bodybuilding championship in the city on February 12 and 13. Work on the Rs five crore swimming pool of international standards will also kickstart soon. Along with this, we have already reserved ten acres of land for the construction of an international cricket stadium,” he informed.
MP Nalin Kumar Kateel also spoke on the occasion and said, "If our district stands first in literacy rate, it is only because of the Christian institutions. The Christian community has contributed largely for the economic and infrastructural development of the place.
"From ancient times, this place was known for Hindu-Christian harmony. We have to preserve it and pass it on to the next generation,” he added.
MLC Ivan D’Souza said, "Golden jubilee is an occasion to honour people who have offered their service to the society and have taken the place to greater heights. Let us cherish this moment.
"This church belongs to the entire region. It teaches discipline through its institutions, and has been instrumental in the growth of this place," he added.
The dignitaries also unveiled the souvenir of the golden jubilee on the occasion.
Former priests who have served the church, vocations from the church and achievers were also honoured.
Secretary of the pastoral council, Agnes Concesso read the annual report of the church.
The parish priest of the church welcomed the gathering while vice-president of the pastoral council Roshan Rodrigues proposed the vote of thanks.