Media Release
Mangaluru, Jan 4: In preparation for the annual feast of Carmel Hill, a nine day novena of Carmel Hill will be held commencing on January 5.
The novena mass will begin at 10.30 am. All the devotees will be provided with lunch. All through the novena days there will be nine masses held everyday. The annual feast of Infant Jesus will be celebrated on January 14 with a solemn mass at 6.00 pm. There will also be masses all through the day. The mass will be presided over by Dr Gerald J Mathias, Bishop of Lucknow, along with Fr Charles Serrao (Provincial OCD) and other priests. The feast masses will be held on January 15 which will be celebrated with a solemn mass at 10.30 am by Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza, Bishop of Mangaluru. The votive offering procession will be held on January 4 at 6.00 pm from Jayashree Gate – Kaikamba to Infant Jesus Shrine followed by flag hoisting.
The announcement was made at a press meet attended by Fr Wilfred Rodrigues OCD Superior, Fr Prakash D’Cunha OCD director of the shrine, Elias Fernandes and committee members.
About Carmel Hill
The silent Carmel Hill in the heart of the busy city, houses one of the most beautiful shrines of Infant Jesus, which provides peace and solace to all the devotees.
The chapel was built in 1947 and is under the care of the Carmelite priests. Though devotion to Infant Jesus began 150 years ago, it took a definite form in Mangaluru after the Belgian Carmelites took over and most importantly after those staffing the erstwhile Quilon Seminary decided on founding a house of monastic observance in the port city. For this purpose, two Belgian priests Marcel and Hyacinth were sent to Mangaluru in 1947. They explored the city in search of a suitable site until they came across Carmel Hill, where the construction work of the chapel commenced.
Initially, the devotional service to Infant Jesus consisted of a prayer which was recited on Thursdays after the morning Mass. Later, for convenience of the people, the Mass with its subsequent devotion in an elaborate form was shifted to Thursday evenings. By the year 1980, Carmel Hill was so much frequented on Thursday evening by people from afar that it came to be a centre for devotion.
The growing crowd brought in the need for a bigger place. Hence, the beautiful shrine was constructed and was inaugurated by former Bishop of Mangaluru Fr Dr Basil D’Souza on January 11, 1996.