Media Release
Mangaluru, Mar25: It was a joyous event for the entire parish of Holy Cross Church, Cordel to receive Bishop Dr Peter Paul Saldanha for the pastoral visit from March 20 to March 22.
Fr Victor Machado, the parish priest, Fr Lawrence Cutinha, Fr Shaun Rodrigues, assistant parish priests, Dn Ivan Dsouza, Michael Dsouza vice president, Lancy Sequeira, secretary of the Parish Pastoral Council, Fr Walter Mendonca SVD along with the new first holy communicants, altar servers, ICYM, YCS members, representatives from various associations of the parish and a large number of parishioners accorded a cordial welcome to the bishop. He was welcomed with a bouquet and later in a grand procession was accompanied to the serene ambiance of the well-decorated Holy Cross Church, Cordel at 4.30 pm.
The parishioners assembled in large numbers to witness this three-day historical event. After the formal welcome, the bishop concelebrated the holy mass at 5 pm with all the priests of the parish and the deacon. Therafter, he visited the cemetery, blessed and offered prayers. Later, at 7.00 pm he had a meeting with the Parish Pastoral Council and the day concluded with dinner with them.
On Sunday March 21 at 7 am the bishop addressed the entire parish community, conducted catechism for the parishioners on church teachings and then concelebrated the holy mass, inaugurated the 'Amoris Laetitia Family Year' at the parish level with the logo on the theme, 'Family: A Gift of God, Cradle of Love and Faith'. Two representative families of the parish Stany and Shobha Rebello with their children Shain and Sweedal, and Alwyn and Anitha Noronha inaugurated the ceremony.
At 9.00 am the bishop conducted catechism for the children followed by holy mass. At 10.30 am he met the parents of the seminarians of the parish, Dn Ronson Pinto and Br Joel Monteiro. At 11 am the bishop had meetings with various associations of the parish namely altar servers, YCS, ICYM, SVP, Legion of Mary, Franciscan Third Order and catechism teachers. At 4.00 pm he visited the sick of the parish, offered prayers and gave communion. The recipients were Christine Lobo (100 years) of Lourdes ward, John Baptist Lobo of St Jude ward and Denis D'Souza of Emmanuel ward. Later, at 5.00 pm he participated in the Small Christian Community (SCC) meeting at Niddle Lower, Mercy ward under the leadership of the ward leader, Praveen Sequeira. He interacted with the ward members gathered in the ward and appreciated their interest. At 6.30 pm he had a meeting with the Finance Committee members and joined them for dinner.
On Monday March 22, he offered holy mass at 6.30 am at Little Sisters of Poor Convent, interacted with the Sisters and met the elderly inmates cared for by the Sisters. Later in the morning, he visited the RMI Convent and White Doves Ashram. At 10 am he visited St Joseph Higher Primary School, St Joseph High School and Sacred Heart School. He interacted with the principal, teachers and students. At 12 noon he visited Santa Cruz Convent and after lunch, the pastoral visit concluded with a prayer service. Thereafter, the bishop returned to Bishop’s House.
The pastoral visit was an event of a unique experience for the whole parish, which enabled the people to express their unity and faith. The visit by the bishop creates hope that the parishioners will live a committed Christian life in the years to come.