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Mangaluru, Jul 22: Holy Cross Church in Kulshekar witnessed a significant event on July 21st morning as 48 children were formally inducted as altar servers during the 9:30 AM Mass. This ceremony marked a pivotal milestone for the parish, highlighting the spiritual growth and commitment of the young participants to serve at the altar.

The Mass, presided over by Fr Clifford Fernandes, featured a poignant homily that resonated with the newly inducted servers and the congregation, emphasizing themes of service and dedication. Fr Clifford Fernandes and Fr Vijay Monteiro jointly conducted the induction ceremony, offering spiritual guidance and encouragement to the young altar servers.

The proceedings were skillfully coordinated by Sr Reena, Gladys, and Matilda, ensuring that the event was both memorable and spiritually enriching for all attendees.

Assistant parish priest Fr Paul Sebastian, parish leaders including Ruth Castelino, vice president of the parish council, and Anil D’Sa, the secretary, were among the dignitaries present. Dolphy D’Souza, secretary of the 21 association, also graced the occasion with his presence, underscoring the community’s support for the new altar servers.

The ceremony culminated in a group photograph, capturing the jubilant spirit of the occasion and the readiness of the new altar servers to embark on their journey of service to the parish.

Mangaluru: NRI Christmas Day celebrated at Cordel Holy Cross Church

Mangaluru, Dec 26: A one-of-its-kind, Christmas Day was celebrated at Holy Cross Church, Cordel. On the occasion of post centenary golden Jubilee of the Church, various programmes were organised for the parishioners.

On December 24, NRI Christmas was celebrated with the NRIs of Holy Cross Church who are spread across the globe. There were more than 150 NRIs from various countries like USA, Qatar, Oman, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Israel, Iran, Thailand, Australia, Gabon, Canada, Czech Republic, etc. A beautiful procession was carried out with NRI families before the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. The NRIs were honoured and felicitated with blessed candles. It was a special celebration in honour of all our parishioners who are working abroad and the joy of being one big parish family was much evident in the proceedings of the celebration.

Fr Paul Sebastian D’Souza – assistant parish priest was the main celebrant. Fr Clifford Fernandes preached the sermon and he stressed on the special occasion of the birth of Jesus. He called on the parishioners to be kind and considerate and be aware of where one comes from and history. He called upon the people gathered to be humane towards each other. “God wants dwells amongst us and in the Old Testament God spoke to Prophets through light, sound, wind, dreams, etc. God has his own plans and he fulfils his plan when the right time comes. From time to time, God sends various people to speak to humankind and we need to recognise the presence of God in them. Where there is peace, harmony, love, etc. there we can the glory of God. What does God expects from us? He expects us to be caring, sharing, helping the needy and he calls us to walk on the righteous path,” he said.

The Holy Eucharist was concelebrated by Fr Ivan Peter Cordeiro – assistant parish priest, Fr Walter Mendonca, Fr Richard Fernandes, Fr Ronald Rodrigues – guest priests and deacon Norman Mathias and Br Joel Monteiro were present along with Ruth Castelino – vice president of the parish council, Anil D’Sa – secretary of the parish council, finance committee members and the members of the parish council were present. More than 6000 faithful attended the Eucharistic celebration. The special attraction is the 22-ft tall Christmas tree that attracted a lot of crowds and served as a photography and selfie spot. The ICYM members prepared a beautiful crib depicting a meaningful message. The sweetness of the festive season was shared by distributing cake to all present at the celebration.

Mangaluru: Grand Horekanike procession marks celebrations at Holy Cross Church, Cordel

Mangaluru, Dec 10: On the occasion of post centenary golden jubilee of Holy Cross Church, Cordel, and on the occasion of 146th death anniversary of the founder of the church Fr Alexander Duboi (popularly known as Kulyarda Ajjer) and for the ‘Anna Santharpane,’ will be held on December 11.

Horekanike procession was held on December 10 from Infant Jesus Shrine, Bikarnakatte. The 11 zones, comprising of 4 wards in each zone, brought the horekanike. Carmel fathers from Infant Jesus Shrine, Vamanjoor Parish, Kelarai Parish, Shakthinagar Parish, Katte Friends, Veera Narayana Games Team, Jai Jawan Friends Circle, former corporate Bhaskar Moily also brought Horekanike in honour of ‘Kulyarda Ajjer.’

All the people of Kulshekar and adjoining areas are invited to join the feast day celebrations commencing at 5.30 PM, with Mass, followed by eucharistic procession and anna Santharpane at 8 PM.

Mangaluru: Founder’s Day celebration at Holy Cross Church, Cordel, honors Frad Saib

Mangaluru, Dec 11: The Holy Cross Church in Cordel marked the 146th death anniversary of its founder, Rev Fr Alexander Dubois, affectionately known as “Frad Saib,” with a solemn mass held at the church grounds.

Bishop of Mangalore Catholic Diocese, Dr Peter Paul Saldanha, officiated the mass and extended his blessings to the congregation. In his sermon, he emphasized the significance of salvation through the cross of Jesus Christ and praised Frad Saib’s dedication, which led to the establishment of the sacred Holy Cross Church in Cordel.

“Honoring one’s parents is a divine virtue that invites blessings from God. Recognizing and rectifying mistakes is crucial. The Word of God serves as inspiration for all of us. Let us adopt it in our lives, becoming benevolent members of society,” remarked Bishop Saldanha.

The holy mass saw the participation of Cordel church parish priest Fr Clifford Fernandes, assistant parish priest Fr Ivan Cordero, Fr Paul D’Souza, and 24 priests from various churches across the Mangalore Diocese. Following the religious ceremony, a fellowship meal was shared among the devotees, with approximately 5,000 individuals partaking in the celebration.

Deacon Norman Mathias, vice president of the Parish Pastoral Committee Ruth Castelino, and secretary Anil D’Sa were also present during the Founder’s Day commemoration at Holy Cross Church, Cordel.

Mangaluru, Sep 18: The post-centenary golden jubilee celebration of Cordel Church (Holy Cross church) of Kulshekar was held on Sunday September 17.

Bishop of Mangalore diocese Dr Peter Paul Saldanha offered the Mass. Chief priest of Mangaluru city zone Fr James D’Souza, parish priest of Cordel church Fr Clifford Fernandes, assistant priests Fr Ivan Cordario and Fr Paul D’Souza and other guest priests were present. Several religious brothers, sisters and devotees of Kulshekar and nearby churches were present.

Bishop Dr Peter Paul Saldanha gave the homily and blessings of the cross. After the Mass, felicitation was held for 103 people including assistant priests and those who have become priests from this church.

Bishop Dr Peter Paul Saldanha was felicitated on completing five years as the bishop of Mangalore diocese. The bishop congratulated the priests and religious brothers of Kulshekar church who rendered their relentless service. He also wished that the church become a holy shrine in coming days. Parish priest of the church Fr Clifford Fernandes thanked all those who made the celebration a grand success.

Vice president of church Ruth Castelino, secretary Anil D’Sa, coordinator of 21 commissions Dolphy D’Souza, media coordinator Eliyas Fernandes and others were present.

Richard Alvares compered the event. Fr Paul D’Souza rendered vote of thanks.