CM Kumaraswamy to Inaugurate Celebration of 450 years of The Holy Rosary Cathedral
Mangaluru: Addressing the media persons during a press meet held at Mangaluru Press Club, Rev Fr J.B. Crasta, Rector of Rosario Cathedral said, ” Honorable Chief Minister of Karnataka H. D. Kumaraswamy will inaugurate the Celebration of 450 Years of The Holy Rosary Cathedral, Bolar, Mangaluru on November 18, Sunday. The ceremony will be held at the Rosario Cathedral Grounds at 6.30 pm”.
“Most Rev. Dr. Peter Paul Saldanha, Bishop of Mangalore Diocese will preside over the ceremony. Most Rev. Dr. Aloysius Paul D’Souza, Bishop Emeritus, Diocese of Mangalore, Msgr. Maxim Noronha, Vicar General, Diocese of Mangalore, Rev. Fr. Stanislaus D’Souza SJ, Provincial, Karnataka Province, U.T. Khader, District in-charge Minister and State Minister for Urban Development, Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP of Dakshina Kannada, Oscar Fernandes, Rajya Sabha Member and Dr. Charles Lobo, CPMG, Karnataka Circle will grace the ceremony as chief guests” added Fr Crasta.
Fr Crasta further said, “Vedavyasa Kamath, MLA of Mangaluru South Constituency, Boje Gowda, Ivan D’Souza, B.M. Farooq, MLCs, Bhasker K, Mayor of Mangaluru, J R Lobo, former MLA of Mangaluru South, Ronald Colaco, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Abdul Latif, Corporator, Port Ward, Rev. Sr Mary Susheela AC, Rev. Sr Susheela Sequeira UFS, Superior Generals, M.P. Noronha, Secretary, Diocesan Pastoral Parishad will be the guests of honour”.
Fr Crasta also said, “On the occasion of 450 years of the existence of the Rosario Cathedral we are planning these projects: We intend to arrange to set free and rehabilitate 20 prisoners irrespective of cast and creed through the Prison Ministry Organization of Mangalore Diocese. A sum of Rs 4, 50,000/- will be kept for this project as a symbol of ‘450’ years of celebration; 10 Christian families from ‘Bengare’ will be helped financially to get “Hakkuptra” from Mangaluru City Corporation; 10 families of our parish will be helped to repair and white wash their houses; We also intend to establish a permanent ‘Medical Relief Fund’ for the parishioners; and A postal envelop and ‘my stamp’ will be released on Sunday 18th November. A souvenir will also be released”.
Eucharistic Celebration:
Prior to the formal inaugural ceremony, the Eucharistic Celebration to be held at Rosario Cathedral Grounds at 5 pm will be presided over by Most. Rev. Dr Peter Machado, Archbishop of Bengaluru. Most. Rev. Dr. Peter Paul Saldanha, Bishop of Mangaluru will deliver the homily while Rev. Dr. Aloysius Paul D’Souza, Bishop Emeritus and other Bishops and Priests will be the con-celebrants.
Three-day Retreat:
As part of the historic celebration of 450 years of The Holy Rosary Cathedral, a three-day Retreat (Praise and Worship) will be held at the same venue on November 15, 16 and 17 from 5 pm to 8 pm.
Rev Fr Flavian Lobo – Assistant Parish Priest, C.J. Simon, Vice President, Mrs. Elizabeth Roche, Secretary of the Rosario Parish Pastoral Parishad and Aldrin Vaz, convenor of publicity committee were present at the press meet.
About Rosario Cathedral aka Church of Our Lady of Rosary of Mangaluru:
Church of Our Lady of Rosary of Mangalore (Portuguese: Igreja Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Mangaluru), or Rosario Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mangaluru, dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. It was the first Roman Catholic church in the Canara region. Historically, this was the only parish church in Mangaluru reserved for the high-caste Mangalorean Catholics. It is the oldest church in Karnataka.
The church of Our Lady of Rosary of Mangalore was originally the church of the old Portuguese factory. It was built by the Portuguese in 1568. Oral tradition states that the image of the Virgin Mary at the high altar was found by the fishermen at sea; when it got caught in their net. It was later brought to the church and installed there. The church was the main centre of devotion for the Bamonn caste who revered the image of Our Lady of the Rosary on the high-altar. It was mentioned by the Italian traveller Pietro Della Valle, when he visited Mangaluru in 1623.
The church was desecrated and destroyed by Mysorean ruler Tipu Sultan in 1784. Reconstruction of the church later began in 1813. In 1910, the structure of the old cathedral was demolished and the present cathedral erected in its place. The church of Our Lady of Rosary is the only church in the Mangaluru Diocese which has a dome crowning the spacious sanctuary. The cross on the cathedral’s dome was traditionally lit every night to serve as a beacon for seafarers. The Royal stone emblem of the Portuguese King marking their landing at Mangaluru lies at the entrance of the church.
In 1851, the Church of Our Lady of Rosary, Mangaluru, was declared a Cathedral. In 1910, Henry Buzzoni a Jesuit priest started further beautification of the Cathedral. The formal dedication was done in 1915 by Bishop Paul Perini of Mangalore (1910-28). The architect of the new cathedral was a Jesuit brother, Divo of Bombay. The structure consists of a series of matching arches, with 48 major arches, 12 central arches and 50 sub-arches. The peripheral verandah has around 45 small arches.
The dome is a replica of the St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, with heavy metal ribs, minor re-inforcements of metal, red brick and mortar water-proofed using indigenous techniques. In years gone by, the dome of the cathedral could be seen by ships approaching the Mangaluru harbour, and was a beautiful sight.
