Mangalore: ‘Year of the Priest’ Inaugurated in Diocese
Report: Fr William Menezes PRO
Pics: Fr Victor Vijay Lobo
Mangalore, Jun 20: Pope Benedict XVI has announced a special “Year of the Priest”, that will last from June 19, 2009, Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, to the same date in 2010. It will be, in fact, the 150th death anniversary of Saint John Mary Vianny the holy cure of Ars, a true example of a shepherd at the service of Christ’s flock.
The inauguration took at Rosario Cathedral on June 19 at 5 pm with concelebrated Eucharist presided over by Bishop Aloysius Paul D’Souza of Mangalore,, with priests nearly 100 and large number of faithful joining the celebration. Just before the beginning of the Mass the Bishop together with the Vicar General of the diocese Msgr Denis M Prabhu and dean of the Episcopal City deanery Fr Stany Goveas unveiled the portrait of St John Mary Vianny with the logo, “The faithfulness of Christ, The faithfulness of the Priest”.
In his homily Bishop exhorted the priests to imbibe the qualities of St John Mary Vianny to renew the consciousness of their own identity and to reinvigorate the missionary zeal that flows from the divine intimacy from their “staying” with the Lord. He urged the faithful to love their priests and to pray for them. “We should be grateful to God,” he said, “for providing good number of priests to render their service in the diocese and requested the faithful to bring up God fearing families and promote vacations to serve the church.