Bishop Dr Peter Paul Saldanha felicitated at Rosario Cathedral
Mangaluru: The newly ordained Bishop Dr Peter Paul Saldanha was felicitated at the Rosario Cathedral here on September 16. Dr Peter Paul is the 14th Bishop of Mangaluru Diocese ordained on September 15 at the Rosario Cathedral by the outgoing Bishop Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza.
The programme began with an invocation. The Secretary of Rosario Pastoral Parishad Elizebeth welcomed the gathering. The Parish Priest along with other priests and the committee members felicitated Bishop Dr Peter Saldanha with flowers, shawl, memento and a citation.
Parish Priest of Rosario Cathedral delivered the felicitation speech and said, “Today our Bishop has celebrated his first Holy Mass at the Cathedral. The Chair of this Cathedral is yours. We need your support and guidance to lead this Cathedral successfully. Today all the media is praising you (Bishop) for your kindness because during the ordination on September 15, you spoke in Konkani, Kannada, Tulu, English, and Italian. People are all praising for your wisdom. Rosario Cathedral has more than 450 families, some families have locked their doors and residing in foreign countries. We have 1670 people in 14 wards that come under this parish. We will organize a programme to mark the completion of 450 years. There is a plan to start a medical fund during the Jubilee year and to help in innocent people languishing in jail get released. You are our Parish Head and we need your support and blessings for all our programmes. I once again wish you all the very best”.
Addressing the gathering M P Noronha said, “Knowledge is richness, Patience is a strong weapon, Smile is a powerful medicine, safety is to keep faith in God, we can find all these qualities in our new Bishop Dr Peter Paul Saldanha. On September 15, till 3:00 pm, the Bishop was meeting everyone with a smiling face even without having food. Even the non-Catholics were praising the Bishop for speaking in all the languages and taking everyone together. In the coming days, the Mangaluru diocese will reach greater heights under the leadership of Bishop Dr Peter Saldanha bringing name and fame in the national and international level. We will get more good leaders for the Mangaluru diocese, let the Almighty God bless Bishop Dr Peter Paul Saldanha in all his future endeavours.”
Speaking on the occasion representative of Apostolic Nuncio Msgr Javier Fernandez said, “I thank the Almighty God for choosing Dr Peter Paul Saldanha as the Bishop of Mangaluru Diocese. I wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.”
Responding to the felicitation Bishop Dr Peter Paul Saldanha said, “If I go to Hampankatta alone in this attire people will laugh at me, some may even say I am wearing a fancy dress or I am out of mind. If a king wears his royal attire and goes alone on the street, people may think he is out of his mind and sent him to a psychiatric hospital. I am wearing this dress because it was sent to me from Rome and I am compelled to wear it as I am the Bishop. This dress has value because of all of you. When the people of the diocese are with me, we will have name, fame and respect. I would like to thank the Almighty Lord for giving me an opportunity to celebrate the first Holy mass and my wish is to celebrate the last mass as a Bishop in this Cathedral. I will be here for some years as a bishop and after sometime, I will go from here. Parishioners are very much important for the success of a Bishop. We the people of Rosario Cathedral should be a model to other parishes. I would also like to thank all the parishioners for your efforts in making the Episcopal ordination a great success.”
Vice President of Rosario Pastoral Parishad C J Simon delivered the vote of thanks. Assistant Priest Fr Flavian Rajkiran Lobo, Principal Rosario PU College Fr Victor D’Souza, Assistant Parish Priest of St Sebastian Church Bendur Fr Alwyn Serrao, Fr Anil Fernandes, PRO Mangaluru Diocese Fr Vijay Victor, former Parish Priest of Bendur Fr Peter Noronha and other priests were also present.
