Jacintha Saldanha funeral: Grieving family and friends bid tearful farewell

Jacintha Saldanha funeral: Grieving family and friends bid tearful farewell

mangaloretoday.com/ Dailymail

Shirva, Dec 17, 2012: The mortal remains of Jacintha Saldanha, the Indian origin nurse in England  who was a victim of prank call, were laid to rest at the Our Lady of Health Church, Shirva on December 17, Monday in the presence of hundreds of people including family, relatives, friends and well-wishers. A pall of gloom descended the area as the family bid a tearful adieu to Jacintha.

 

Jacintha Saldanha’s grieving husband and two teenage children clutched each other tightly today as they gathered with hundreds of mourners in Shirva, the home town in India for her funeral. Friends and family paid their respects to the 46-year-old nurse who was duped by a hoax call during a simple ceremony in Shirva, 30 miles north of Mangalore on the south-India.

Earlier, crowds lined the roads close to the Catholic church to pay their respects while relatives attended a private prayer ceremony at her home. Jacintha Saldanha’s body was kept at her husband’s home in Shirva for a few hours before being taken to the church for funeral service and burial.

 

Sadness: Children of Jacintha Saldanha - daughter Lisha (left) and son Junal (right) - are consoled by their father Ben Barbosa (centre) during their mother’s funeral at The Shirve Church cemetery near Mangalore

 

Mourning: Ben Barboza (centre) holds his son Junal, on his right, and daughter Lisha at the burial of his wife

 

Saying goodbye: Jacintha Saldanha’s widower Ben Barboza (centre) and her children Lisha (left) and Junal (right) stand next to her coffin

 

 

 

Mrs Saldanha’s funeral was preceded by a private prayer ceremony at her home in Shirva, attended by close friends and family. A closed casket containing the Jacintha’s body was then carried into the Catholic church, accompanied by her husband and two children. Religious leaders, officials and politicians were among those attending the funeral.

The Udupi district administration have made extensive arrangements - upping security and setting up barricades - to accommodate crowds of mourners touched by Ms Saldanha’s death.

 

 

 

 

The Our Lady of Health church in Shirva is over 100 years old. It’s where the catholic community including members of Barbosa family attend mass and offer prayers. But not many people remember the last time such a large congregation turned out. Hundreds of people lined the church entrance, held in place by police barricades, straining to catch a glimpse as Jacintha Saldanha’s coffin was brought in. Family members - including her husband Benedict Barboza and two children - accompanied it, dressed in black.

 

 

 

As the funeral procession entered the church, a band starting playing. The service, which was relayed to those gathered outside the church through loudspeakers, was conducted in Konkani languages and presided over by Udupi bishop Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo along with Shirva pairsh priest Fr Stany Tauro and Fr Denis D’Sa as the concelebrants.

Earlier, Steven Almeida, a close family friend from the UK addressed the media and asked not to press any queries in a time like this when the family has barely any strength to talk to the media. Steven told the media that London police has assured the family of conducting a complete investigation into the case.

He thanked India origin, British MP Keith Vaz, the Indian high commission in the UK, Oscar Fernandes, Rajya Sabha MP, R Ashok, Karnataka Deputy CM, Jayaprakash Hegde, MP and others for their support and for expediting the process of bringing Jacintha’s body to India.

 

Several leaders including Dr Baptist Menezes, Vicar General of Udupi Diocese, Janardhan Poojari, former union minister, Udupi district minister Kota Srinivas Poojari and Kaup MLA Lalaji Mendon offered floral tributes.

 

Courtesy: Dailymail, London