Pics: Ivan Lobo
News: Janet D’Souza
Canada, Sep 19: Monti fest has a tremendous significance to the Catholic community as it celebrates not just the birthday of the mother of Jesus Christ but also the new harvest. It is an occasion when families gather in exultation, rekindle their love and bonds over a traditional meal with an odd number of locally grown vegetables and grain from the first harvest. With great solemnity and enthusiasm, the Mangalorean Association of Canada (MAC) organized and hosted the traditional 'Monti Fest' at John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre in Mississauga.
With announcements by Gerry D’Mello, a prayer in honor of Mother Mary by Suneetha D’Souza and led by the Knights of Columbus, angelic children dressed in their finery placed flowers in honour of mother Mary to the accompaniment of ‘Sokkod Sangatha Melhyan and ‘Moriyek Hogolhsiyan’.
Fr Andrew Lewis blessed the sheaves of corn and the candles. After the blessing, the people walked devoutly in a procession to the St Maximilian Kolbe parish for a Konkani mass. Fr Edwin D’Souza, the main celebrant, led the mass in Konkani and Fr Roshan D’Souza’s evocative and emotional homily stirred the hearts and minds of an enthusiastic congregation of worshippers. Fr Andrew Lewis and deacon Sarfraz Pinto were co-celebrants at this mass. The melodious and harmonious voices of the Konkani choir members resonated through the church, a testimony to the immense talent and leadership of Merlyn Rodrigues, the choir leader.
The cultural programme commenced in John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre with a brief welcome and introduction of the evening’s emcees by Manohar Pais, president of MAC. Vibrant and talented Elvis Menezes and Seneca Rego were the emcees and both of them conducted the programme flawlessly and with effervescent energy. The evening was a medley of performances by largely young people who displayed their multi faceted talents, poise and professionalism akin to seasoned artistes. Each artiste
invested time and enormous energy into their performances and the association thanks each of them for their dedication.
The Noven ceremony, the traditional drinking of milk with the new grain included the clergy and Sr Ferdinanda, MAC EC members and main sponsors. Blessed candles were distributed to all the sponsors in sincere appreciation of their generosity and unflagging support. Dinner was a sumptuous array of vegetarian delicacies such as Pothrade, vegetable cutlets, grilled vegetable lasagna followed by the eagerly anticipated ‘Vorn’ catered to perfection by Konkan Delite.
MAC is a staunch supporter in facilitating and establishing initiatives to promote university education amongst its community. MAC was the pioneer that initiated the scholarship programme for first year university entrants. The 2018 winners were Aaron Mathias and Vivek Anthony Pereira, intellectually bright and socially aware and empathetic individuals. Vincent Machado one of the Sponsors for the event, presented the $750 award to Aaron and $500 award to Vivek was presented by sponsor couple,
Reginald and Mary Fernandes. The 50/50 raffle draw was hugely successful with some of the profits allocated to support the Sneha Sagar Society Charity in Mumbai, India.
The Monti fest celebrations ended with Laudate and the cheers of the satisfied audience.
MAC sincerely appreciates the participation and help of all the volunteers and the dedication and commitment of its members who ensured the astounding success of the fest.