Bishop Gerald Lobo Blesses Renovated St Peter’s Church Barkur
Udupi: renovated St Peter’s Church Barkur was blessed and dedicated by the Bishop of Udupi Diocese, Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo in the presence of a large number of priests, religious and parishioners of Barkur and neighbouring parishes on Sunday, December 15.
In his homily, Bishop Gerald said that the dream of the Barkur parishioners of renovating the Church has been realized. It is the symbol of hope, aspirations, hard work and sacrifice of many of the parishioners.
Bishop Gerald Lobo highlighted the meaning of the place of worship (Temple or Church) and traced the origin and development of places of worship since ancient times and pointed out that it was King David who thought of building a grand Temple for God. However, he was not destined to complete the Temple and it was his son Solomon who completed the grand Temple in honour of Yahveh (God).
Continuing the homily, Bishop Gerald Lobo said that the church is the symbol of the everlasting relationship between God and His people. It is a place of worship and prayer. The church should mean not only a new place for worship and prayer but also a place where the parishioners should come together as one family united in Jesus Christ.
Soon after the homily, the ritual of blessing, consecration and dedication of the new church continued with the recitation of the ‘Litany of the Saints’. The Bishop anointed the sacrificial altar with Chrism Oil and anointed four points on the walls of the church, thus sanctifying the entire church.
The Bishop handed over the lighted candle to Fr Philip Neri Aranha representing the Light of Christ.
After the Holy Communion, the Bishop blessed and concreted the Tabernacle and placed the ciborium consisting of the Blessed Eucharist inside the Tabernacle and after closing the doors of the Tabernacle handed over the keys to Fr Philp Neri.
At the end of the Mass, Fr Philp Neri expressed gratitude to Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo for blessing and dedicating the new church, Msgr Baptist Menezes Vicar General of the Diocese, Fr Stany B Lobo – Chancellor of Udupi Diocese and all the priests who had participated in the Holy Mass.
Fr Stephen D’Souza, Director of Liturgical Commission of Udupi Diocese compered the ritual of the blessing and dedication of the church.
Soon after the inauguration, blessing and dedication of the new church, a felicitation function was held in Church Ground. The programme was presided over by Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo. Other dignitaries on the dais included: Msgr Baptist Menezes Vicar General of Udupi Diocese, Fr Stany B Lobo Chancellor of Udupi Diocese, Sr Sylvia Fernandes Councillor of Provincial Superior, Sisters of Charity, J R Lobo former MLA Mangaluru, Shaila D’Souza president Barkur Gram Panchayat, B Shantharam Shetty Karnataka State Rajyotsava Awardee, Fr Philip Neri Aranha parish priest, Jerald M Gonsalves Vice president, Vivet Lewis Secretary and Dolphy D’Souza Co-ordinator of Commissions.
Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo honoured the past priests who served the parish, Ward Gurkars and Donors on the occasion.
In his message, Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo congratulated Fr Philip Neri and Barkur parishioners for their great achievement in building a new church with great sacrifice and dedication. He said that for Christians church is like the door to heaven as all rituals right from the birth till death are performed in the church.
The Bishop also announced that 2020 will be observed as a special year in Udupi Diocese during which a programme of providing homes for the homeless would be implemented by raising funds from different parishes.
On behalf of the Diocese of Udupi, Bishop Gerald Isaac Lobo felicitated Fr Philip Neri as a token of appreciation of his great work in Barkur.
Jerald M Gonsalves welcomed the gathering, Vivet Lewis delivered the vote of thanks and Eric Soans Barkur compered the stage programme.