Mangalore : Traditional Fervour Adds Glow to Platinum Jubilee Celebrations of Valencia Church
by Rose Rodrigues
Pics by Cyril Dsouza (Nikhil Studio)
Mangalore, Jan 26: The platinum jubilee celebrations of St Vincent Ferrer Church wore a traditional look on Tuesday January 25 evening, illuminating the surroundings of Kankanady.
The programme commenced with the concluding day of the nine-day Novena mass at Cloistered Carmel Convent, Kankanady and it was a unique event to cherish. The otherwise quite campus of the Sacred Heart Chapel of the Cloistered Convent resounded the joy of Platinum jubilee celebrations of Valencia parish.
Fr J B Crasta, director St Joseph Asylum was the main celebrant. He appreciated the good work of the Valencia parishioners and encouraged them to set priorities and achieve greater heights.
Fr Bonaventure, the parish priest of Valencia parish, assistant Fr Roshan Crasta, Fr Maxim Rosario, administrator, St Jeppu Seminary and Fr Barroccas were the concelebrants. The Cloistered Carmel Convent sisters singing the recessional hymn ‘Ave Maria’ in Latin was touching.
Fr Bonaventure felicitated Sr Jacintha as it was her birthday. Sr Marie Celine likened being part of the Valencia parish handed over the Wine and Particle to the newly-elected president of the Parish Council of Valencia Parish, Rita Menezes and secretary Leslie D’Souza.
Sr Jacintha handed over four baskets of coconuts to the existing Parish Council president Arun Raj Rodrigues and Flavia Sequiera as gifts to be taken to Valencia parish in the procession. Fr Denis Moras Prabhu, the Vicar General of Mangalore Diocese handed over the flag of Valencia church with the emblem of church with patron saint St Ferrer to vice-president and declared the vojem procession off.
The people gathered felt touched immensely when Sr Marie Celine expressed her joy and thanked the parish priest for holding such beautiful programme in their campus. The vojem procession started from Cloistered Carmel Campus to Valencia parish was a rare sight.
It was an attempt to display the traditional culture of the region. The flag of the church was carried forward in the procession accompanied by two camels with the angels, with Harry’s Brass Band and more than 200 children marching with flowers to the tunes of dancing dolls, succeeded by Host and Particles along with the idol of St Vincent Ferrer, patron of the church, followed by thousands of parishioners with palms and the youngsters rallying in bike hand cart and bullock cart, echoing ‘viva Valencia” along with reverberating Nasik Band to proceed ‘Vojem’.
Fr Bonaventure gave a grand welcome to all with ‘Panpod udak’ and received vojem along with the assistant priest Fr Maxim Rosario. He led the concluding novena prayer and blessed the gathering. Irrespective of age, all the gathered danced as the fireworks flashed for 75 times applauding each year of sacrifice and success of the parish.
The vojem procession of Platinum jubilee celebration was a great occasion for the parishioners as more than 1,700 people became part of the programme. The people of the region irrespective of caste and class watched with appreciative gesture.
Indeed it was a great occasion for the Valencia parishioners to remember the past glory of togetherness and joy sharing with each other and probably it will double on Wednesday January 26 as the parishioners join to cook together, to eat together in the grand valedictory of the jubilee celebrations.