The mortal remains of Bishop of Karwar William D’Mello laid to rest

The mortal remains of Bishop of Karwar William D’Mello laid to rest

Mangalore Today News Network

Karwar, July 22, 2011:The final rites of the late bishop of Karwar Fr. William D’Mello were held on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Cathedral Church of the Assumption of Our Lady in Karwar . The funeral procession commenced at St. Michael’s Convent School grounds and ended at the cathedral.

 

 

 

The body was brought from Mangalore to Sandhya Vandan in Karwar at 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday. It was dressed in priestly robes and placed in a refrigerated glass case and kept in the Holy Cross Church Hall at Shirwad so that members of the public could pay their last respects.

Right from the morning of Wednesday, groups arrived from different parishes to spend a few hours in prayer and singing of hymns. Bishop Derek Fernandes, the bishop of Karwar, celebrated mass with a few other priests concelebrated at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday. The students of the Holy Cross Orientation Centre stayed awake all night singing hymns.

At 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, the bishop’s body was placed in a coffin and taken in an open truck to St. Michael Convent School along with a motorcade. After a short prayer service at St. Michael Convent School, the body was taken in a procession to the Cathedral Church at 11:00 a.m. The public were permitted to pay their last respects till 2:30 p.m.

The funeral mass commenced at 3:00 p.m. with Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore as the main celebrant. Fr. Derek Fernandes, the bishop of Karwar; a number of bishops and archbishops including Archbishop Philipe Neri Ferrao and Archbishop Emeritus Raul Gonsalves of Goa, Archbishop Emeritus Ignatius Pinto of Bangalore, Bishop Aloysius Paul D’Souza of Mangalore, Bishop Thomas Vazhapilly of Mysore, Bishop Peter Machado of Belgaum, Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo of Shimoga, Bishop Robert Miranda of Gulbarga, and Bishop Lawrence Mukkuzhy of Belthangady concelebrated.

The homily was delivered by Bishop Peter Machado. Archbishop Ignatius Pinto, Archbishop Bernard Moras, Msgr Simon Tellis, Sr. Rosy H.C., and Mr. Monte Fernandes expressed their feelings about the late bishop. Fr. Thomas Misquith, the chancellor, read the messages of the Pope, Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva, and many others. Bishop Derek Fernandes expressed gratitude to all those who had been with the late bishop during his illness.

The mortal remains of Bishop William D’Mello were laid to rest in a specially constructed grave within the Cathedral Church in front of the altar.

The priests of Karwar, Belgaum, Bangalore, Mangalore, along with a number of religious nuns, family members, relatives, and friends of the late Fr. D’Mello along with 5000 lay people were present for the final rites.