Mumbai: A 438-year-old church in Kurla will celebrate its parish feast on Sunday in a traditional way. The Holy Cross Church in Kurla village will host a procession and cultural programme by adopting traditional styles of celebration.
Since five years, the local communities around the church has revived its culture by organizing an annual feast, according to parishioners. The feast is arranged on the first Sunday of May every year.
Brian Nunes, one of the parishioner, said, “It is a Roman Catholic church which is around 438 years old. The parishioners include catholics from various communities including East India and Tamil Nadu. Over 200 women from the nearby village come together for the preparation of traditional dishes.”
In the evening, a procession will be carried out from Pillai chowk to Father Peter Pereira road.
Gabriel D’mello, a resident of Kurla village, said, “It is to celebrate the 438 years of this church. The community members will be dressed up in the traditional way. The women will wear the ‘lungra’ which is the traditional East Indian sari. Priests will be brought on horse-carts through Kurla village.”
Brian, added, “Many years ago, the East Indian community members had donated the land property to the church. There is one holy cross in the church which was found in the Asalpha area and since then, it is kept in this church. The annual feast is the initiative to bring all the communities and parishioners together in an attempt to unite the communities.” The cultural event in the evening will see traditional dances by the community members, appreciation of the members who have done good work for the community and the award ceremony.
(DNA)