First day of St. Lawrence Feast attracts thousands of devotees

First day of St. Lawrence Feast attracts thousands of devotees

Mangalore Today News Network

Karkala, Jan 25, 2012: Thousands of devotees were drawn to the St. Lawrence Shrine in Attur on Jan 24 Tuesday, the first day of the 3-day Feast of St. Lawrence. Fr. Francis Serrao, the provincial of Karnataka Jesuits, presided over the festive mass. 

In his homily, Fr. Serrao spoke of the abundant grace of God and narrated stories from the Bible to emphasize his points. 

Fr. Boniface Pinto, the director of Mangala Jyothi; Fr. Vijay Machado, the assistant director of the Pastoral Centre; Fr. Francis D’Souza, the assistant director of St. Anthony’s Orphanage; Fr. Felix Monteiro, the chaplain of Fr. Muller Charitable Institutions; Fr. Arthur Pereira, the parish priest of Attur; and many other priests concelebrated in the holy mass. 

Special prayer sessions were also conducted for the sick. 

Higher Education Minister prays in Attur shrine
Dr V. S. Acharya the Higher Education Minister of Karnataka state Government visited the Shrine on Tuesday 24th of January 2012. After his visit and prayer in the shrine, he delivered a message in front of the statue of St Lawrence.

‘St Lawrence Shrine of Karkala is very famous and attracts devotees not only from Udupi district but from multiple districts of our state.   I am extremely happy to visit this famous shrine’ he said.

‘The devotees who come to this shrine are filled with joy and blessings from the Lord.  They go back from here with a thankful heart and relieved of tensions and anxieties’ he added.

‘Some years back I was invited to this shrine to inaugurate the festivities of the shrine.  That too was a joyous occasion for me’ said the Minister.

Public Works Department (PWD) Minister of Karnataka state Mr C. M. Udaci too visited the shrine yesterday.