Kundapur: The Karnataka’s first Star – Shaped St Francis Assisi Church of Tallur was inaugurated on Thursday May 12 here.
Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo Bishop of Udupi Diocese inaugurated and blessed the newly built church by cutting the ribbon and unveiling the plaque at 9:00 am. Later Bishop co-celebrated the Eucharistic mass with Fr Anil D’Souza Dean Kundapur Denary, Fr Sunil Veigas parish priest Tallur, Fr Valerian Mendonca Chancellor Udupi Diocese and also parish priest of Barkur Church, Fr Alexander Lewis parish priest of Kanajar and Fr John Walter Mendonca parish priest of Sastan Church.
In his homily, Dr Gerald Lobo highlighted the importance of the church. He also highlighted the purification of the temple by Jesus by chasing out the animal and bird sellers as well as other vendors from the temple of Jerusalem. The Bishop stressed on the significance of the church and pointed out how it is very closely associated with the lives of the faithful.
After the Eucharistic Celebrations, a public felicitation and Honouring programme was held in the Church ground. The programme began with a welcome dance by the children. Arun Mendonca vice president parish pastoral council welcomed the gathering. Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo inaugurated the public felicitation and Honouring programme by pouring water to the plant.
Vinay Kumar Sorake district minister in-charge and also State urban development minister in his message recalled the contribution of Christians in various fields and said that Catholic institutions have played a prominent role in the development of the nation by promoting quality education. The role in the twin districts of promoting education and health care needs to be appreciated.
In his presidential speech, Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo said that in Indian culture, places of worship have a distinct place. The Bishop complemented the parish priest and people of Tallur for their efforts in erecting such a beautiful church building within a short period. He said that the people of Tallur have poured their love, sacrifice and labour into the construction of the new church building. It was their dream which has become a reality.
Referring to the drought situation in Karnataka bishop said that Today the State is facing severe drought. Lack of adequate rain has impacted on the availability of drinking water. St Francis Assisi was renowned for preserving the environment. Ancestors have preserved the environment by planting trees and now it is our responsibility to preserve it for the future generations. Only rain and trees can prevent global warming that is causing a lot of concern in today’s world, he added.
Bishop Gerald, Vinay Kumar Sorake, Gopal Poojary, Prathapchandra Shetty and Fr Anil D’Souza felicitated the contractors, Engineer, Sponsors, donors, parish pastoral council vice-president, Secretary, Fr. Valerian Mendonca (Parish Priest Barkur), Fr Alexander Lewis (Parish Priest Kanajar) and Fr Francis Cornelio (Parish Priest Kalathur) who served in Tallur on the occasion.
Fr Sunil Veigas was honoured with a shawl, fruits, memento and garland by the Parish Pastoral Council for his leadership.
As a mark of appreciation for the leadership and guidance that has been provided by the parish priest of Tallur Fr Sunil Veigas offered him a shawl with great humility and gratitude. A message and Apostolic Blessing from Pope Francis was read out by Stany D’Silva secretary of the Parish pastoral council.
Fr Anil D’Souza Dean Kundapur Deanery, Gopala Poojary MLA Bydoor, Prathapchandra Shetty MLC, Ananda Billava President Grama Panchayat Tallur, Vedamoorthy Vidwan Ramachandra Bhat, Dharmadarshi Siddivinayaka Temple Hattiangadi, B A Ismail Madani Al-Badriya Juma Masjid Mavinakatte were also present.
Anil D’Silva and Neetha Mendonca compered the entire programme and Fr Sunil Veigas delivered the vote of thanks.
