Udupi: A Catholic parish in the southern Indian state of Karnataka on April 12 honored all its native priests and nuns now serving in various parts of the world, as part of its centenary programs.
St Antony’s Church Sastan, a parish under Udupi diocese, confined the celebrations to religious observance because of the corona regulations. The parish will hold a jubilee thanksgiving Mass April 14 led by Bishops Isaac Lobo of Udupi and Peter Paul Saldanha of Mangalore.
Father Baptist Menezes, director of Udupi diocese’s minor seminary, was the main celebrant for the Mass honoring the priests and nuns. According to him, vocation to be a priest or a nun is a blessing from God and it should be accepted with love.
Priests and nuns hailing from the century-old Sastan parish now spread Jesus’s message of all over the world. The new generation should make use of the opportunity, Father Menezes added.
Priests and nuns now serving the Sastan parish were also honored after the Mass.
The parish, established in 1921, now has more than 1,170 in 300 families. The parish is more than 400 km west of Bengaluru, the state capital, a nearly 75 km north of Mangaluru, a port town.
Source: daijiworld.com