 Friday 18th June was a memorable day for our beloved priests as well as for us parishioners as we concluded with great joy the Year of the Priest, declared last year by our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, to mark the 500th Death Anniversary of St. John Mary Vianney.
The evening began with the Concelebrated Eucharistic Celebration with the entry procession led by the Altar Servers, 12 children dressed in white as angels along with two Catechists dressed as Jesus and Mary accompanied by the picture of the Patron, Saint John Mary Vianney and the seven celebrants.
The Main Celebrant was our Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Dinesh Mendonca, along with Rev. Fr. Ding Camus, Rev. Fr. Yousef Sami, Rev. Fr. Vincent D’Souza, Rev. Fr. Andrew Santiago, Rev. Fr. Saji George (in the absence of Rev. Fr. Joy Menachery) and Rev. Fr. Mario Pereira (in the absence of Rev. Fr. Felicio Diniz) who joined in concelebrating the Holy Eucharis
The church was packed with devotees giving thanks to God for giving us priests and partaking in the Eucharistic banquet.
After Mass all the celebrants were taken in procession from Multipurpose Hall to the Bishop Tirinanzi Auditorium, accompanied by parishioners, nuns, waving balloons, holding umbrellas and playing music, where a felicitation program was to take place.
The entertainment program began with the Prayer Song by the Children of Sacred Heart School, followed by an opening address by the Coordinator of the Coordination Team, John Rebello who acknowledged the good works of the priests both present and past in our parish and paid tribute to them.
The Children of the English Prayer Group rendered an Invocation Dance, and later all priests were welcomed on the stage where children presented each one of them with a rose. A cake cutting ceremony was held, where all seven priests cut it at one go. Soon all the seven priests were honored with a memorable gift presented to them on behalf of all parishioners by different senior parishioners of various communities. Rev. Fr. Dinesh received the two gifts on behalf of Rev. Fr. Felicio and Rev. Fr. Joy who were on leave.
Rev. Fr. Dinesh thanked God for giving the priests a great gift of Priesthood. He acknowledged the goodness of God in their lives. He thanked the parishioners and the Coordination Team who worked hard throughout the year to make this day a memorable for each one of them and assured his prayers for all.
A musical presentation by the Filipino Community brought an essence to the program whereby they presented a beautiful tableau in song and dance on the theme: Journey to Priesthood, and which was enjoyed by all present.
The main attraction of the evening was a video presentation – CALLED TO SERVE - A face to face interview with all our seven priests – namely Rev. Fr. Dinesh, Rev. Fr. Ding, Rev. Fr. Yousef, Rev. Fr. Vincent, Rev. Fr. Andrews, Rev. Fr. Joy and Rev. Fr. Felicio Diniz, who expressed about their vocation and how one can come forward to answer the Lord’s call.
Three winners and three runners-up of the three Year of the Priest Quizzes were presented with their respective trophies and all participants were presented with certificates as a memento.
A vote of thanks was presented by Lawrie Cordeiro who thanked each and everyone who rendered assistance in one way or the other to make the program a great success.
A packed auditorium enjoyed the evening that was compared by Gabriel Crasto, while the proceedings were captured by Edwin Pinto on camera and George Ouseph on video, making the day truly memorable for all and thus bringing smiles on the faces of our priests.
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