C.M. Paul

Kolkata: The oldest Church in eastern India situated on the banks of Hooghly river has chosen to promote caring for mother earth as its Christmas theme this year.

“We have gone green for Christmas this year,” says prior of Bandel Church Fr T.L. Francis showing the church field which is clustered with scenes from the life of Jesus Christ.

There is a new and rare representation of Jesus as good shepherd juxtaposed with Mother Mary holding baby Jesus in one hand and a lamb in the other.

“Mother Mary while giving life, nurtures and cares for Jesus. She, the Mother also takes care of the week and helpless among the creation of her divine son Jesus,” explains CEO of Church Art Kolkata Mr Subrata Ganguly who came up with the concept.

Other elements in going green is construction of crib – traditional nativity scene – with natural materials like bamboo, jute, straw, and saw dust along with terra cotta figurines depicting the characters of the nativity scene.

Starting with calvary scene which has newly planted bottle brush plants and travelers palm bushes, the entire 14 Stations of the Cross which had black colour base last year has green coating to match with the green lawn of the church field.

Other attractions this year include the representation of the visit of the wise men to Bethlehem with statues of the three kings each 9 ft tall and statues of three camels each 12 ft tall.

Another added attraction this year is 20 feet long representation of the last supper, as well as the life size representation of the annunciation scene.

On a visit to Bandel shrine during the Christmas season more than 100,000 visitors of all religious beliefs are expected to see larger than life size statues of popular Christian saints such as Mother Mary, Mother Teresa, St Don Bosco, St Joseph, St Francis Xavier, St Ignatius of Loyola, St Augustine and larger than life size Stations of the Cross depicting 14 scenes from the final hours of Jesus’ life with 54 odd statues.

Greeting the pilgrims at the band stand in front of the shrine is a music fountain showcasing popular Christmas carols in sound, light and water jets brilliantly executed by Church Art Kolkata.

Established by Portuguese Augustinian monks in 1599, Bandel Church came under the charge of the Salesians of Don Bosco in 1928.

Saint Pope John Paul II declared Bandel Church dedicated to Nossa Senhora do Rosario – Our Lady of the Rosary – into a Basilica in 1988 in view of the 400th year celebrations scheduled for 1999.