Fr Richard D'Souza
Mangaluru, Aug 16: The platinum jubilee celebration of Archbishop of Bengaluru Dr Barnard Moras was held at his native place Kuppepadavu here on Tuesday August 16. The solemn Eucharistic celebration was held at the church of Immaculate Heart of Mary Kuppepadavu grounds, presided over by Dr Bernard Moras with the bishops of Karnataka region and priests.
It was followed by the felicitation programme presided over by Dr Aloysius Paul D'Souza, bishop of Mangaluru.
Bishop Aloysius Paul D’Souza (bishop of Mangaluru), bishop Peter Machado (bishop of Belagavi), bishop Francis Serrao (bishop of Shimoga), bishop Robert Miranda (bishop of Gulbarga), bishop Lawrence Mukkuzhy (bishop of Beltangady), bishop Mar Antony Kariyil (bishop of Mandya), bishop Henry D’Souza (bishop of Ballari), and bishop Geevarghese Mar Divannasios (bishop of Puttur) Oscar Fernandes, member of parliament, Blossom Fernandes, Msgr Jayanathan, vicar general of Bengaluru archdiocese, Msgr Francis, chancellor, Ramanath Rai, forest and district in-charge minister, Abhaychandra Jain, MLA and former minister, J R Lobo, MLA, Mangaluru South, M P Noronha, secretary DPP of Mangaluru diocese, Msgr Antony Swamy (vicar general of Bengaluru archdiocese), Ivan D'Souza, MLC and chief whip, and Vincent, DC of Madikeri were present on the stage.
Msgr Denis Moras Prabhu felicitated the Archbishop thanking God for His gift of life, and also presented a brief profile on him and his great achievements.
Felicitating the Archbishop on behalf of bishops of Karnataka, Dr Peter Machado, bishop of Belagavi shared his experiences and unique moments with the archbishop at Belagavi, and said, "He is a man of tremendous stamina, he taught me to pray specially Rosary, and he loved the poor and needy and was generous to them. He is a powerful leader, right Archbishop for the right time in the history of Bengaluru archdiocese."
To mark the occasion, the Moras family members launched the 'Moras Charitable Trust' to help the poor and needy, which was inaugurated by the Archbishop.
On this occasion, Kuppepadavu parishioners also felicitated the bishop of Mangaluru on his platinum jubilee and also the Archbishop. Many guests also felicitated the Archbishop.
Ramanath Rai in his address appreciated the work of the Archbishop and felicitated him. Oscar Fernandes felicitated the Archbishop and thanked God for his gift of life. Ivan D'Souza said the archbishop is very firm on his stand and ready to fight for justice and truth.
The Archbishop in his address thanked God, family members, bishops, priests and religious and specially congratulated family members for starting the charitable trust to help the needy.
In his presidential address, Dr Aloysius Paul D'Souza shared his experiences with the Archbishop and congratulated him on the platinum jubilee of life.
Martin Moras welcomed the gathering, Florin Moras proposed vote of thanks while Fr Edwin Pinto compered the programme.