Centenary fete of St Sebastian Church to be inaugurated on Jan 20

Centenary fete of St Sebastian Church to be inaugurated on Jan 20

Mangalore Today News Network

 Mangalore, Jan 17,2013: The yearlong centenary celebrations of St Sebastian  Church, Bendur will be inaugurated on January 20  by Rt Rev Dr Henry D’Souza,  Bishop of Bellary. The opening ceremony will coincide with the Feast Day of St Sebastian Church.

 

Informing this to reporters here, Fr Antony Serrao, Parish Priest of the  St Sebastian Church  said the Centenary Celebration aims at bringing the people together in faith and unity. The theme of the Centenary is “Towards deeper Faith and Fraternity”.

He further said to  mark the Centenary,   a Medical Fund will be launched for the poor and needy families of the parish. Various competitions and events will also be organized for the parishioners throughout the year, he informed and added the centenary celebrations will conclude on January 19, 2014.

Recalling the evolution of the Church, Fr Serrao said it was  in 1912 that a small Chapel was built in the same place where the present church exists. Until then, the Bendur area came under the Rosario Parish.

The Bendur Parish had its origin in August 1914 and became an independent Parish with Rev Msgr Raymond Mascarenhas as the first Parish Priest. Since then,  17 Parish Priests and 61 Assistant Priests have rendered their services in Bendur. The Padua Educational institutions   and St Joseph’s primary school at Nanthur come  under the administration of the Bendur church.

Presently the parish has 2150 families with a population of 8223 and there are eight different Religious houses in the parish, Fr Serrao informed.