Mangalore: Leaders of Various Communities Remember Frad Saib
News by Praveen Tauro Kulshekar
Pics: Nellu Permannur
Daijiworld Media Network—Mangalore (RD/CN)
Mangalore, Apr 23: The Cordel Holy Cross church building was declared as a memorial to Frad Saib by Fr Vincent Pinto of St Aloysius Evening College and a plaque was unveiled to mark this on Wednesday April 22.
Bishop Aloysius Paul D’Souza was offered a grand welcome by the musicians at Cordel parish. He prayed for a while at the church and later unveiled the plaque inscribing the life history of Fr Alexander Dubois, better known as Frad Saib.
Paldane Blessed Teresa of Kolkata parish priest Fr Gregory W Vas unveiled the plaque inscribing the prayer.
Our Lady of Miracles parish priest Fr Walter D’Mello unveiled the plaque of donors.
‘Somyachea Pashavacho Molo’, a replica of Gethsemane where Frad Saib used to meditate at Holy Cross parish, was inaugurated by Cordel Holy Cross former parish priest Dr Valerian D’Souza. Bishop D’Souza blessed the garden.
Bishop D’Souza also offered the solemn jubilee Eucharistic Mass at 5.30 pm, along with 30 clergy from various parishes across the diocese.
St Joseph Inter-diocesan Seminary rector Dr Victor Joachim Machado, in his homily, said that Fr Saib had trodden a treacherous path to reach the message of Jesus to his flocks at Milagres, Bondel, Kuloor and neighbouring parishes at a time when any dependable means of transport were non-existent.
Dr Machado termed the priest ‘zealous and devout’, always at a call to anoint the sick and ailing, pray for the dying and in distress, and ready to teach catechism to children in far flung parishes.
The jubilee felicitation programme at 7.15 pm was presided over by the Bishop.
MLA Yogish Bhat, Yenepoya University chancellor Y Abdulla Kunhi, and Nitte University vice-chancellor and Tejasvini Hospital chairman Dr Shantharam Shetty were the chief guests on the occasion.
Corporators Mariamma Thomas, Mohan Padil, and Gretta Rebello, were the guests of honour.
Bishop D’Souza inaugurated parish website www.cordelchurch.org on the same occasion.
Bhat released the parish telephone directory.
He said that the Christians are a peace-loving community that has been affected by communal violence in the recent past. Bhat assured that all efforts are underway to restore communal harmony and peace in society.
Dr Shetty released the souvenir of bicentenary jubilee celebrations of Fr Saib and said that the latter’s yeomen service to Dakshina Kannada district was remarkable.
Abdulla Kunhi said that Christian missionaries had changed the economic condition of people residing across the district with due emphasis on education, health care services, and spiritual needs and presented trophies to Bajal parish and runner-up Paladka parish, winners of inter parish cricket tournament held recently.
Cordel Holy Cross parish priest Fr Valerian Pinto, assistant parish priests Fr Vincent Saldanha and Fr Arun Lobo, parish council vice-president Victor Vas, secretary George D’Souza, and jubilee celebration convener Shusheel Noronha were present on the dais.
The donors who contributed generously for the jubilee celebrations and committee members were felicitated by Fr Pinto on the same occasion.
Over 5,000 people were present on the occasion. The dinner which was served to all was prepared by parishioners collectively on the church campus.