Mangalore: CASK Honours Widows at Annual Reunion
Pics by Sphoorty Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network —Mangalore (CN)
Mangalore, Nov 23: “Widowhood is motherhood in adversity, a story of triumph. When the spouse goes, you think the sky has fallen. But to rise like the phoenix and to succeed in life, requires a lot of courage. Difficult situations in life make a human being very tough”, said Michael Saldanha, retired judge, Karnataka High Court.
He was welcoming the audience assembled at the St Aloysius High School Hall in the city for the ‘Catholic Association of South Kanara Reunion-2009’, in his capacity as its president, held on Sunday November 22.
The special theme for this year’s reunion was the honouring of those members of the community who were widowed at the age of 40 or earlier and had to single-handedly bring up and care for their children.
Altogether, 77 women and a man were honoured by Justice Saldanha on the occasion. It was a celebration of the strength of women.
Dr Derek Lobo, retired doctor, who served with the World Health Organization for several decades, raised the toast to the widows and the lone widower on behalf of all people and said, “This is one very significant, extraordinary, and privileged toast I have ever raised in my life. If every mother is an institution, you are extraordinary institutions. You have given the gift of your life to your children and the community. This is celebration and appreciation of your continued work. We salute you for being a role model to our community".
Bishop Aloysius Paul D'Souza, who joined the celebrations halfway through, praised the efforts of CASK. “No one has ever dreamt of honouring the widows so far and this is indeed a praiseworthy deed by CASK”, he said.
Earlier in the day, Fr Ronnie Prabhu, director, Fatima Retreat House, offered mass along with other priests at the St Aloysius Chapel. He gave a profound, touching, homily on the occasion.
Sabrina was the master of ceremony. Skits were enacted and Patma Melodies entertained the audience with some scintillating numbers.
During last year's reunion, married couples who had been wed 50 years or more were felicitated.