Mangalore: Biblical Play ‘Jentilancho Apostle St Paul’ to be Staged on Mar 8 
Daijiworld Media Network—Mangalore (RD/CN) 

Mangalore, Mar 5: ‘Jentilancho Apostle Sa Paul’, a play based on the Holy Scriptures, will be staged at 6.00 pm on Sunday March 8 at St Agnes Special School grounds here. Entry tickets will be available at the school premises from Sunday morning.  

‘Mandd Sobhann’ will stage the play directed by Arunraj Rodrigues and John M Permannur , with music by Joel Pereira.  Alwyn Bajal will erect the ten stages required for the performance which will have a hundred artistes participating.

Over 10,000 people are expected to witness the performance which will be supplemented by special effects in the form of music and lights.  

St Paul is a martyred saint and his missionary work in spreading the Gospel in the early Christian era is significant. 

“To understand St Paul is like understanding early Christianity or the church”, says Kelarai St Ann’s parish priest Dr Mark Castellino, the playwright of ‘Jentilancho Apostle Sa Paul’. The play is being staged in aid of the educational institutions of St Ann’s parish, Kelarai.

St Paul has been reckoned as the second founder of Christianity and over quarter of scriptures in New Testament covers his missionary work in propagating Christian faith.  The play will convey how St Paul, a zealous Christian missionary of early church instrumental in spreading the faith across the continents.   

St Paul bore strong witness to Jesus Christ through his deeds and actions in the missionary work that was recorded in the New Testament.  Although St Paul was not one of the disciples of Jesus, he never looked back after his encounter with Jesus and carried on the missionary work of Jesus to build the early church. He lay down his life for the sake of his Christian faith. 

The 2,000 year anniversary of St Paul was announced by Pope Benedict XVI in Rome on June 28, 2008.  

Fr Castelino

Playwright Dr Mark Castellino began to script the play on St Paul after he realized the significance of the theme during his visit to St Paul’s mausoleum in Rome on June 29, 1989.  

However, owing to his doctorate study he was not able to pursue the idea further. Dr Castelino penned the script when he was appointed parish priest in various churches across the European continent over the years.

The in depth knowledge of St Paul that was acquired through thorough research using theosophical books in English, Latin, and German are incorporated in the play.  Dr Castelino gave the final touches to the script in his last year of doctorate study at Roman University where he was fortunate to live in St Paul’s Home for a year.    

Consecutive third scripture-based play: 

This will be the third play staged by Kelarai St Ann’s parish in the past three years during the Lenten season.  Kelarai parish gets the credit for rejuvenating spirituality, especially during Lent by staging such plays that have been witnessed by over 6,000 people. 

Dr Castellino’s hard work and effort in all this has to be acknowledged. The efforts of convener Alfred Bennys and Kelarai parish council vice-president Jossy Rodrigues and secretary Pricilla Monteiro are indeed significant in the staging of the two plays in the past.