Mangalore: Glory of Crown of Lady of Immaculate Conception Restored

Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore

Mangalore, May 18: The Blessing Ceremony of the Statue and Crown of our Lady of Immaculate Conception, Mulky, was held here on Thursday, May 17 with great reverence and fanfare. The blessing ceremony of the statue and the crown was done by Fr Valerian Mendonca, Director, Sandesha College of Fine Arts, Mangalore.

The crowning ceremony was followed by a procession to the church and solemn high mass at the Immaculate Conception Church, followed by a grand function. The statue and crown renovation work has been carried out by the family members late Adam D Souza and late Coelho families, who are believed to be the descendents of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception (OLIC) Miraculously Saved Family.

History of the Crown

The involvement of the late Adam D Souza and late John Coelho family with the crown of the statue has a long and interesting history. According to information obtained from elders and various other sources it is said that late Adam D Souza and John Coelho were brothers-in law and these agricultural families were residing at Pavoor, Mangalore. Following a calamity they were forced to leave Pavoor and settled in Palimar and Mulki. When they were sailing in a boat from Pavoor to Mulki and Palimar through the Arabian Sea carrying sugarcane saplings tragedy stuck once again in the form of bad weather and ghastly winds. When their boat was about to capsize they prayed to Our Blessed Mother, the patron saint of Mulki church and survived. They attributed their survival to Our Lady of Immaculate Conception and promised to install a silver crown on her statue in Mulki church. The crown on the statue of Our Lady has been the result of their avowal promise, which exists even now.

When the church underwent major repair in 1999 the crown was removed from the main altar and kept inside without identification. When parish council members met Vincent D Souza, said to be a fourth generation descendent of Adam D Souza, during their fund collection drive for church

hall, the identity of the crown was reestablished. The parish council members then decided to trace the crown and promised to reinstall it with the same fervor with which it was first crowned. Their efforts yielded good results as the crown was located and it also brought together the family members of both D Souza and Coelho to discuss about restoring it inside the church. The OLIC Statue and Crown Reinstate Fund Committee was formed to garner financial and moral support with contributions from these families.

During this period the family of D Souza and Coelho came to know that Adam’s son Inthrupriya D Souza had started a government-aided primary school, which was eventually taken over by the Furtado family. Greatly inspired by the social service cause exhibited by their ancestors, members of D Souza and Coelho family decided to contribute their might towards their social responsibility by donating their ancestral land for social cause.

Restoring the glory and eminence of the stature and the crown is the kind of initial thrust D Souza and Coelho families were waiting to get started their social service cause. May 17, 2011 was chosen to carry out the noble and reverential task of restoring the glory of the statue and the crown. This has now been achieved with the active support and cooperation of the family members of both D Souza and Coelho families, the parish priest and the parishioners as the entire event was celebrated with joyous euphoria and veneration with all the parishioners participating in the celebration.

The formal celebrations were followed by felicitation function and a grand lunch for the parishioners.