Media Release
Mangaluru, Jan 26: The parish feast of St Vincent Ferrer Church, Valencia, was celebrated in a deeply devotional atmosphere on Sunday, January 26.
The celebration commenced with the distribution of ‘Candles of Honour’ by the parish priest, Fr Roque D’Sa to recognise and honour the Parish Pastoral Council members and those who contributed to the feast. The list of honourees was read aloud by Ronald Rodrigues, vice president of the Parish Pastoral Council.
For the solemn Eucharistic Mass, the main celebrant was Fr Vijay Monteiro, assistant parish priest of Holy Cross Church, Cordel, Kulshekar, Mangaluru.
During the solemn Eucharistic celebration, Fr Vijay, delivered a thought-provoking homily emphasising the transformative power of the Word of God. He encouraged the faithful to embrace happiness as a way of life, stating, “If we are truly happy, only then can we spread happiness in the world.” He highlighted the importance of living joyfully as a reflection of faith and as a means to inspire and uplift others.
Drawing attention to the life of St Vincent Ferrer, Fr Vijay spoke of the saint’s extraordinary dedication to spreading the Word of God. He shared that St Vincent Ferrer, a Dominican friar from Valencia, Spain, is credited with performing around 58,000 miracles during his lifetime. These miracles are a testament to the saint’s unwavering faith and his ability to bring God’s message of hope, healing, and salvation to the world.
Joining him as co-celebrants were parish priest Fr Roque D’Sa, assistant parish priest Fr Pradeep Rodrigues, Fr Charles Menezes, Fr Louis D’Souza SJ, Fr Harry D’Souza, Fr Jagadish Pinto and Fr William Barracos.
Fr Vijay extended warm greetings to all the parishioners.
Fr Roque expressed gratitude to all the parishioners for their contributions, active participation, and cooperation, which made the feast a grand success. Approximately 1,100 parishioners participated in the celebration, which concluded with a breakfast served to all attendees, fostering a sense of unity and joy within the community.