New Delhi Archbishop, Two Other Mangaloreans Celebrate 50 Yrs of Priesthood

Wilfred D'Souza
with Inputs from Fr Chetan Machado

New Delhi, Dec 16: Kanara Cultural Association, a registered body in New Delhi since the year 1961, held a grand celebration to commemorate the golden jubilee of the priestly ordination of three Mangalorean priests, one among whom was Delhi Archbishop Vincent M Concessao. The other two were the vicar general of the Archdiocese Fr Victor D'Souza and Fr Paul Serrao.

The mega event was organized recently at the Diocesan Centre, Gole Dhak Khana, close to the Sacred Heart Cathedral. Vincent M Concessao. Archbishop of Delhi along with the other two jubilarians concelebrated the Holy Mass along with 10 other Mangalorean priests. It was a full house as all the members and guests of the organization took part in the Holy Mass.

In his inaugural exclamation of joy the Archbishop requested all the faithful present to join him and the other two of his colleagues in thanking the Lord in the Holy Mass.

The choir group sang Konkani hymns so that all could join their voices in praising the Lord.

Soon after the Holy Mass there was photo session of Jubilarians with different age groups.

All the three jubilarians were felicitated in a special and unique way. On calling the name of Fr Paul Serrao, who first took the center stage and Dorothy Pereira was called by the compere to speak on the achievements and person of Fr Paul Serrao, she gave a brief history of Fr Serrao’s family, the places that he served and how he is famous for his church ministry. She also did the honours by giving a shawl, flowers and a memento, which Fr Serrao accepted with deep appreciation. In reply to the honours he spoke just two words “ Dev Bore karu thumka somestank.”

Now it was the turn of Fr Victor D'Souza the vicar general of the Archdiocese to be called upon to take the center stage and Maxwell Pereira, former joint commissioner of police, New Delhi, was requested to do the honours. In his brief but well versed speech, Maxy, as he is lovingly called, gave an account of Fr Victor's brilliant administrative skills and acumen, which have made him a class apart. He also did the honour of presenting a shawl, flowers and a memento, which Fr Victor accepted with deep gratitude. In reply to the honours he spoke of his childhood days and what it took to reach 50 years in the service of the Lord and thanked all for making this day so special for him.

The third of the jubilarian Vincent M Concessao Archbishop of Delhi was called upon to take to the center stage and KCA patron Oscar Fernandes, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha was requested to do the honours. In his heart-touching speech Oscar spoke of his association with the Archbishop, when he was a priest, vicar general, and auxiliary bishop of Delhi diocese. He said the brightness and glow on his face is a sign of his simplicity, holiness and dedication for his people. The immense contribution of Archbishop Vincent makes every Mangalorians proud, he said, and wished him long life and many more years in the service of the Lord. He along with KCA president also honoured the jubilarian by presenting a shawl, flowers and a memento.

All the jubilarians, shared their feelings and also expressed their gratitude. There was a short cultural programme which included a Konkani skit, group dances, group song, felicitation song and community singing and baila dance.

KCA website, created by Melvin Albuquerque, was inaugurated by the Archbishop on the occasion. Wilfred D'Souza informed the house about the new KCA directory/ souvenir that the KCA executive is planning to bring out in 2012 and called upon all the members to support the cause by contributing in the form of advertisement and donations.

KCA president was very gracious and wasted no time in expressiong his appreciation of his executive committee when he called and honoured all those who really contributed in making this evening specially grand and memorable one - Jerry (who sponsored dinner), Elias Pinto, the master of the ceremony /Gurkar of the evening, Babita and Veronica Alik, for the choir and singing to name a few. All those who participated in the dances and skits were also called on to the stage. The Valados - Zita and her daughters put up some brilliant dances. Badarpur Mangalorean community actively participated in the cultural events. The compering in Konkani that was done by Janet and Prashant was flawless, brilliant and exemplary.

More than 400 members from Delhi, Noida, Faridabad and Gurgaon took part in the celebration.