Agasaima — Archbishop of Goa and Daman Filipe Neri Ferrao exhorted the Catholic community to bear witness to Christ in all situations, through the staunch faith provided by their ancestors.
He was addressing the community at the opening ceremony of 450th Jubilee Year celebrations of St Lawrence church building at Agasaim.
Speaking at the triple celebrations, namely the feast of St Joseph, 450th jubilee year opening celebrations and concluding golden jubilee celebrations of St Lawrence high school, Archbishop Ferrao reminded the congregation that the Catholic community was in the season of Lent and through faith all were called to bear witness to Christ.
He further highlighted three virtues of St Joseph, namely man of responsibility, man of faith and man of love and service and urged the parishioners to follow in his footsteps. “If we are to grow in responsibility, we need to respond to any situation in life. As people of faith, we need to accept everything as God’s will. And in our life wherever we are, we need to be people of service. And when all these virtues exist, there will be God’s blessings,” he added.
While living in a community in our parish and society at large, Archbishop Ferrao said that we are all called to be responsible parents, teachers and students. He reminded that family is a cradle of faith and the church and school are temples of faith and knowledge respectively, reported Heraldgoa.
After the Eucharistic celebrations, the archbishop blessed the renovated St Lawrence school, besides the newly built multipurpose hall. He was accompanied by the parish priest and manager of the school, Fr Johnsie Colaco and other dignitaries. The ex-manager of the school, Fr Gerard da Costa was also present on the occasion.
From a small chapel in 1541, St Lawrence church was built by the Jesuits in 1565. The first vicar was Fr Joao Dias assisted by Bro Bento Fernandes. When Fr Estevao da Gama, a diocesan priest, was the parish priest, the church was enlarged.