Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (KR)
Udupi, Jan 6: The unique architectural masterpiece, one of the first boat-shaped churches in the state, Stella Maris Church, Kalmady, was inaugurated in a grand ceremony on Saturday, January 6.
The light house shaped belfry tower was inaugurated by Dr Robert Miranda, bishop of Gulbarga diocese, while the Shrine of Velankanni was inaugurated and blessed by Dr Francis Serrao, bishop of Shimoga diocese. The new church building was inaugurated by the Dr Gerald Issac Lobo, bishop of Udupi diocese.
In his homily, Bishop Dr Francis Serrao expressed his views on the church. He said, “According to the Indian traditions, to construct a temple of God, we need five things – the location should be a hill station, there should be rocks around the place, we need a source of water, there should be greenery and a flag post. There are reasons for the requisites. God has called us to become a living altar. We can construct the biggest of churches, but they do not mean anything until we have groups amongst us. We all need to live like a family. Then we will be called as the ‘Living temple of God’.
“We rose from dust and will return to dust one day. The life given by God will go back to Him. This church which is constructed in the shape of a boat gives us the message that Lord Jesus Christ will save us if we have faith and trust in Him,” he said.
Gregory Nelly Quadros and family, Simon Pressilla Machado, Bahrain, John Baptist and Family, Kalmady, Ronald Smtha Olivera Dubai, Fr Alban D’Souza, parish priest, Stella Maris Church Kalmady, Sanjary Andrade, vice president, parish pastoral council, Shobha Mendonca, secretary, parish pastoral council, Louis Lobo, convenor, church building committee, Flaviy Mathias, and John Joseph Lewis were present.
Prior to the inauguration, the bishops were welcomed with a grand procession.
Priests from the deanery and diocese took part in the Holy Eucharistic celebrations.
Fr Stephen D’Souza, director, Divya Jyothi, conducted the religious ceremony during the Holy Eucharistic celebrations.
Bishop Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo presided over the public felicitation programme. Bishop Dr Robert Miranda, bishop Dr Francis Serrao , minister for Sports, Fisheries, youths afairs and district in-charge minister Pramod Madhwaraj, MLC and chief whip government of Karnataka Ivan D’Souza, MP Oscar Fernandes and wife Blossom Fernandes, Fr Valerian Mendonca, chancellor, diocese of Udupi, Meenakshi Madhava Bannanje, president, CMC Udupi, Narayan Kunder, councilor, CMC Udupi, Harmins Noronha, councilor and president, standing committee, CMC Udupi, Fr Alban D’Souza, Sanjay Andrade, Shobha Mendonca, and Louis Lobo were present on the dais.
Bishop Dr Robert Miranda in his address congratulated all the parishioners on the newly renovated church and said, “This church will lead us from earth to heaven. This church, besides being near to the sea is having a light house shaped belfry tower will lead all devotees towards heaven. When one marries, they look for the best partner, when constructing a house, we looks for the best with minimum cost and similarly, when we spend so much on worldly things, spending on the church should not matter so much. I pray that this holy place lead us all towards the Lord.”
Minister Pramod Madhwaraj in his address said, “Lord Krishna’s statue was found at Malpe in a boat. So when we think of Lord Krishna, we remember the boat. Today, we see Asia’s largest boat shaped church constructed here. Without God’s mercy, this would not have happened. I was an MLA when the foundation stone was laid for the construction, and today I am happy to be part of this inauguration as a minister. Let the church grow and its name mentioned in golden letters in our history.”
Bishop Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo in his presidential address said, “This boat shaped church is a miracle. This church is the result of the people’s sacrifices. On this occasion, we have to thank all donors. Temple is a place where God will live and all can seek his blessings. This is a holy connectivity between devotees and God.
“The architect of this new church is Fr Alban D’Souza. He has worked day and night along with the parishioners and the devotees. Our dream has come true and Fr Alban worked hard to make it a reality. This place of worship is not only for Catholics but non-Catholics too as I have seen number of people from every religion come and pray here,” he said.
Bishop Dr Robert Miranda felicitated all the donors. Bishop Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo felicitated the main designers and the contractors. He also felicitated a few children who had contributed by donating their pocket money.
Minister Pramod Madhwaraj released the souvenir of the newly built church. Jeneview Lobo, editor of the souvenir was present on the occasion.
Louis Lobo read out the message of Pope Francis which was sent on the occasion of the inauguration.
Ace master of ceremony Ronald Olivera compered the programme. Fr Alban D’Souza welcomed the gathering and Shobha Andrade rendered the vote of thanks.