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Mangalore, Jan 17, 2011 : The centenary celebrations of Milagres parish here came to an end at a fitting finale organized at Milagres church on the evening of Sunday January 16. Religious fervour and cultural extravaganza were evident at the ceremony in equal measure.

Bishop of Mangalore, Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza, was the main celebrant at the Mass organized at 5 pm at Milagres church, with a number of priests participating in the Mass as concelebrants.

Following the Mass, cultural programmes were presented at the church grounds. At first, the prayer dance was presented by the students of St Mary’s School, Margil. Fr Walter D’Mello, parish priest of Milagres church, delivered the welcome address. The dignitaries at the dais were presented with bouquets.

On this occasion, the Bishop honoured present parish priest of Milagres church, Fr Walter D’Mello, as well as his predecessors, Fr William Gonsalves, Fr Herold, and Fr William Gonsalves, by garlanding them and handing over to them mementoes and fruits. Fr D’Mello disclosed that as planned, over a hundred projects had been taken up and completed by the parish during the centenary year. He also made a power point presentation of the programmes held during the centenary year.

B A Cutinha, IAS, additional chief secretary to the government of Karnataka, participated as chief guest. He was introduced by Marcel Monteiro, president of the Centenary Celebrations Committee. Speaking to the gathering, Cutinha expressed his deep gratitude to Our Lady of Miracles for blessing him to work earnestly as a government servant for three decades, during which, he had come to be known as a hard working and sincere civil servant. He said that church is the symbol of love and peace between the people of the entire parish and that the church is much more than just a building. He said that the majestic structure of the church that stands tall at the centre of the city is a gift by God, duly stressing that this parish is blessed by the Lord. He gratefully recollected the selfless service rendered by the present and past priests of the parish, duly noting that more often than not, the sincere work put in by the priests in spreading devotion, helping those in distress and achieving total welfare of the parish, go unnoticed.

Curinha felicitated the members of the centenary committee and the Gurkars of all the wards in the parish. On this occasion, a souvenir was released, and prizes were handed over to the winners of the quiz competition that was held for the people of the diocese, on ‘Diocese of Mangalore’.

In his benedictory address, Bishop of Mangalore, Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza, noted that Milagres parish is blessed to have an able leader, who has the ability and spirit to bring families together, and to lead the people towards spirituality. He hailed the parish priest for selflessly serving the poor and the needy without restricting his services to the people of any particular religion, parish, or community. Recollecting the preaching of the Christ, the Bishop noted that if a person who passes by a person in need without providing him succour, it will be treated as disservice to the Lord himself. He asked the people to follow this preaching of the Christ as a true Christian, and stretch their helping hands to everyone who is in need of help.

A short skit composed and directed by Patsy Lobo on ‘Adam and Eve’ was presented on this occasion. Thereafter, a procession, taking along the statue of the Lady of Miracles, was taken out, culminating in the installation of the statue.

Parish Pastoral Praishad vice president, Alwyn Rosario, proposed vote of thanks. The programme was presented by Celestine D’Silva.

The events and projects taken up during the centenary year were guided by parish priest of the church, Fr Walter D’Mello. The theme chosen for the centenary year was, ‘Come, let us build families’. He was given full support in these endeavours by assistant priests, members of the committee, Gurkars, members of the parish pastoral council, and various committees formed for the purpose. Most of the programmes undertaken during the centenary year centred around helping the poor and the needy in meeting their needs. The total outlay of programmes was about Rs 75 lac, it is gathered.