CELEBRATION OF THE FEAST OF
OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY
– ROSARY PARISH, BARODA
Dear Friends in Christ Jesus,
After days of hectic preparation, inspired by the love of our Blessed Mother, our parish celebrated the Feast of our Lady of the Rosary with great devotion and joy.
The feast was celebrated on 9th September. The celebration began with a solemn Eucharist celebrated by our beloved Bishop Godfrey de Rosario. The whole congregation participated in the Eucharist in a meaningful way as it was the feast of “Our Mother” – the Mother who is loved by all. Bishop Godfrey preached a very inspiring homily and invited all to say the Rosary which is the ‘compendium of the entire Gospel’. While saying the Rosary we contemplate on the entire life of our Saviour Jesus Christ through the eyes and faith of our Blessed Mother.
After the Eucharistic Celebration a booklet titled “History of the Catholic Church in Vadodara” written by Mr. Terence Pereira was released by His Lordship Bishop Godfrey de Rozario. It is a well compiled document giving details of the growth of the Catholic Church in Vadodara from its infancy to the present day. Considering that no clear data or information was readily available at one place, Mr. Pereira went to great length to collect and collate the data from various sources. He achieved this by going through the old files at Rosary Cathedral, scanning through the archives at Bishop’s house, interviewing old residents in Baroda, writing to residents who have moved to other parts of the country and abroad, etc. The booklet contains many interesting photographs of the old church and parishioners.
The 9 days of the Novena and feast was well-planned and executed by the various zones of our Parish. Priests from various parishes came to celebrate the Eucharist and enlightened the people on various facets of the Life of our Blessed Mother.
Later the whole parish gathered in the hall for a short programme. The programme was as follows:
Mr. Francis Barboza, Vice President of the PPC escorted the guests to the dais and they were welcomed with bouquets.
The Welcome Address was then read out followed by an introduction of the Chief Guest and Guests of Honour. The Chief Guest was Mr. Joy Kunju Kutty. The Guests of Honour were Most Rev. Bishop Godfrey de Rosario, Mr. Rajesh Ashriswad Macwan, Fr. Paul Raj S.J., Sr. Delphine and Mr. Francis Barboza.
Mr. Joy Kunju Kutty was born in 1961 in Kollam Dist. Kerala. He is a Chemical Engineer by profession and has done a course on Design and Manufacture of FRP Equipment from the Fibre Reinforced Plastics Research Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He is the Chairman and M.D. of Sunrise Group of Company’s. Baroda.
Mr. Rajesh Ashriswad Macwan is a committed parishioner and one of the leading lights of the Gujarati Catholic community. In the year 2002, he was instrumental in establishing the Rosary Parish Gujarati Parivar. He has always been very keen and enthusiastic in organizing various programmes for the Gujarati Community. Whenever asked, Mr. Rajesh Macwan goes out of his way to render help and assistance wherever needed. He owns a firm titled ‘Asian Engg & Construction Company.’
The Chief Guest and the Guest of Honour gave inspiring speeches and encouraged all to work wholeheartedly for the growth of the parish. The Chief Guest Mr. Joy then gave away the Bishop Ignatius Excellence & Incentive Awards for 2010-11.
Bishop Godfrey and Principals, Fr. Paul Raj and Sr. Delphine gave away the prizes to the catechism children. A word of appreciation was rendered to the catechists who do a wonderful job. Through their dedicated work they bring God to children and children to God. More than 25 parishioners have committed themselves to teaching catechism in the parish. Fr. Saby Lemos - Catechism Animator, Mr. Tony Cardoz - Catechism Co-ordinator and the Catechists were given an roar of applause for the tremendous work done.
Mr. Garwasis then gave a vote of thanks.
After this a Cultural Programme was put up by the parishioners. This year the cultural programme was a bit different. The Five Joyful Mysteries coloured with devotional dances in various languages were enacted beautifully. The entire programme was conceptualized and directed by Mrs. Mary D’Souza and Mrs. Curie Pereira. They have been ably supported by the area leaders of the various zones and the postulants of the Jesus & Mary Congregation.
The day ended with a festive Lunch.
It was truly a memorable day in the life of the parishioners of Rosary Parish, Baroda.
Mr. Shreyas Macwan
(Rosary Parish)
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