Udupi Diocese News

Udupi, Dec 28, 2016 : The long-awaited dream of the faithful Brahmavarites turned into reality as the newly-built Holy Family Church, Brahmavar was inaugurated and blessed on Wednesday December 28.

Fr Joseph Dolphy Pais, provincial, Holy Trinity Province, Karnataka inaugurated the Church, while Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo, bishop of Udupi diocese blessed.

Fr Dominic Veigas and Fr Denis Saldhana unveiled the plaque at the entrance, in the presence pf Fr Antony Vaz, parish priest, Holy Family Church, Fr Stany B Lobo, dean, Kallianpur deanery, priests from the neighbouring parishes, the diocese and other parts.

In his homily, bishop Dr Gerald Lobo said, "A long-awaited dream of the Brahmavarites has become a reality with the inauguration of this strong church building. Sacrifices of parishioners and devotees have made this dream a reality."

"Devalaya is an abode of God, a place where the devotee can connect with God. When we take one step, He will take 10 steps with us.

"When the universe was formed, the entire world was like one church. Adam and Eve were the first devotees and they praise the Lord. Church is for the people. When Jesus was 12 years of age, he came to celebrate the feast in the church and stayed back. It is from the church that he began to spread God's word. When he saw traders doing business in the church, he asked them to clear out, telling them that it was his Father's place and meant for worship alone. Jesus told them, 'Destroy this church and I will rebuild it in 3 days'. He sacrificed his life on the Holy Cross and rose again in 3 days.

"From the Cross, Jesus said he is the life of all. We are in need of one church and one altar. Devotees are the life of this church. We have to reach out to the last person in the society. One who sees the most deprived, Jesus will definitely see him," the bishop said.

Fr Victor Fernandes, superior, Holy Family Friary was a concelebrant of the Mass. Fr Stephen Prakash conducted the entire ceremony. The choir was led by Fr Roshan and Fr Sunil D’Silva.

Prior to the inauguration, the bishop was welcomed and taken in a procession from Brahmavar bus stand to the church. Ravi Prakash Gonsalves, vice-president, Josphine Lewis, secetrary of the parish council and others were present.

Felicitation ceremony

Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo, bishop of Udupi diocese inaugurated the formal public function by lighting the lamp and presided over the felicitation programme.

He congratulated the parishioners for showing the unity. "The parishioners have done a good job by working toward making a beautiful place of worship. Many priests rendered their selfless service towards the church. I especially thank all bishops, mainly the bishop of Udupi, for giving this parish to the Capuchins priests. He has promised to work unitedly to increase the faith of the devotees that has been growing for the last 80 years," Fr Pais said.

Remembering the late Fr Alfred Roche, OFM Cap, a member of the Holy Trinity Province of Karnataka, and the first Capuchin parish priest of Brahmavar, he said, the capuchins have chosen him as the saint and are working towards it.

Pramod Madhwaraj, minister for fisheries, sports and youth empowerment and Udupi district in-charge, released the souvenir to mark the opening of the new church. The editor of the souvenir, Alphonse D’Souza, was present at the inaugural.

In his address, Madhwaraj said, "Ever since Udupi diocese has come into existence, we have inaugurated five new churches. There are three more parishes in the vicinity yet to be inaugurated. We are lucky to construct and witness the blessing and inauguration of New Church of Holy Family.

"Christian educational institutions are role models for others. Today, Udupi secures the first place in education, and this is possible due to Christian institutions and by the blessings of God," he added.

Fr Joseph Dolphy Pais, who was honoured by the bishop, congratulated the parish priest, vice-president, secretary and parish pastoral council members.

Fr Antony Vas honoured Dr Gerald Lobo, bishop of Udupi diocese on behalf of all parishioners.

In his presidential address Dr Gerald Lobo said, "Devsathana in Indian culture has a significant meaning. It is a place where God dwells. Late Fr Julina D’Souza sowed a seed, where he built a chapel dedicated to the Holy Family. Today we can see the fruit. We finished the construction the new church in a short span of time. Now, the responsibility of increasing the faith of the devotees continues. Passersby are drawn to the church. I thank the priests who have rendered their service here, especially the Capuchin priests for their extraordinary service. I thank Fr Antony Vas for his service towards making this dream a reality. I have seen him work very hard on it."

On behalf of the diocese, the bishop honoured Fr Antony Vas, parish priest, and Ravi Prakash Gonsalves, vice-president, for their selfless service.

The bishop also honoured Josephine Lewis, and Richard Mendonca and family.

Terence Fernandes, Adel Menezes, Leo Rodrigues, Irene Lewis, Mary D’Silva, Thomas D’Souza were honoured by the guest on occasion.

Gopal Bhat and Yogish Chandra Dhara of A G Associates, Sunil Prabhu, Shivaram Archaya, Adarsh site Supervisor, Narayan Udaya, Minrul, Anil, Mani, Jayaram Acharya, Roshan Lewis, John Lewis, Joseph E M, Prathap Lewis, Cyril Moyalan were honoured at the programme.

The provincial honoured Antony Roche, Noel Lewis, Kevin Rodrigues, Stephen Fernandes, Lavina Soares, Janet D’Souza, Tereza Dsouza, Leo Rodrigues, Irene Lewis, Michael Furtado, Fr Charles Saldanha, Asha Lewis, Joel D’Almeida, Stevan Lewis, Prakash Lewis, Santhosh Suares, Arun D’Souza, Alphonse D’Souza, Fr Victor Fernandes, Sr Celine, Fr Roshan, Sr Jaya, and various committee members.

A fellowship meal was arranged for all the devotees. Nearly 8,000 devotees witnessed the blessings and inauguration.

Fr Antony Vaz welcomed the gathering. Ravi Prakash Gonsalves thanked everyone. Stephen Lewis and Prakash Lewis compered the programme.

Nithyananda B R, president of Varamballi gram panchayat, Saraswathi, president of Chanthar Gram Panchayat, vice-president, and Josephine Lewis, secretary, were present at the occasion among others.

Source : udupidiocese.in