Statues of St Lawrence and Fr Noronha found in river
Udupi: In a rare incident, two statues of St Lawrence and Fr Roque Zephrin Noronha were found in the Sita river near Hangarkatte here, on July 5.
According to Fr John Walter Mendonca (parish priest of St Anthony’s Church Sastan), on Tuesday morning, parishioner Valerian D’Souza of Hungarkatte called him on the phone and said that there was a wooden statue floating near the port area, behind Stigma factory.
“I immediately visited the place and guessed that is was a statue of St Lawrence. With the help of Valerian D’Souza, Vincent Banz, Santosh D’Almeida and a few non-Christian friends, the statue was lifted from the river, brought to the church and installed at the ICYM Stage,” Fr Mendonca said.
He further said, “Some non-Christian friends said that the statue had been floating there since yesterday. They lifted the statue and took a few snaps behind the Stigma factory. Later, a few elders warned them that it might not be a good idea and could cause problems for them, so they put the statue back in the river. It was floating there in the docks between the boats and the dockyard.”
The statue is made of one wooden log, is five feet in height and weighs around 40 kg. One of the hands is broken. The statue seems to have been painted recently. “I don’t know how this precious statue of St Lawrence was found here,” said the priest.
“As I came back in the morning, one person named Vasudeva Karvy, came to me and said that there was one more statue found floating near Kodi. It was the statue of the Syrian priest, Fr Roque Zephrin Noronha. Then I informed the Syrian Church authorities, who later visited the spot and took the statue to SMS Church Brahmvar,” he added.