Events
Renovated St. Anthony's Shrine Church Blessed At Bandihatti

BELLARY, JUN13: The renovated St. Antony's Shrine church at Bandihatti, Bellary was blessed on June 13, on the feast patron saint.

Bishop Henry D'Souza blessed the renovated house of God, part of which was pulled down due to road widening in the area.
Large number devotees participated in the event with great devotion and fervor.

St. Antony's Shrine at Bandihatti has been a place of popular devotion to St. Antony of Padua for over a hundred years. There is miraculous statue of St. Antony here and many who visit this church experience divine intervention in their lives.

Late Bishop of Bellary Joseph D'Silva made Bandihatti shrine an independent parish in 2002, with Fr. Lourduraj as its first parish priest.

In his message Bishop D'Souza insisted on the need of witnessing to Catholic faith with courage and on the need of reading the Bible and meditating on the Word of God and family prayer.

Bishop Henry D'Souza appreciated the renovation work done under the able leadership of the parish priest Fr. Mariswamy and the members of the parish pastoral council.

At the same occasion, Fr. Mariswamy thanked all the benefactors, donors and all those present. A fellowship meal followed Holy Eucharist.

Cardinal Lourdusamy Laid To Rest At Pondicherry

PONDICHERRY, JUNE 09 (Sagaya): The mortal remains of Cardinal Lourdusamy were laid to rest today, June 9, at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Pondicherry.

Cardinals Oswald Gracias, Telesphore Toppo, George Alencherry and the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio along with hundreds of Priests and a large gathering bid Adieu to the late Cardinal.

Earlier, a requiem Mass was celebrated at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on Thursday, 5th June which was presided over by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of College of Cardinals. At the end of the Eucharist, Pope Francis administered the rites of ultimate commendation and farewell.

After the funeral rites at St. Peter's Basilica, the body was taken straight to the Fiumicino Airport and flown to Chennai, from there it was transferred to Pondicherry, the hometown of Cardinal Lourdusamy.

Cardinal Lourdusamy passed away at his residence, Rome at 5.05 am (IST) on June 2. He was 90.

Earlier he was the Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in the Roman Curia, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1985. He was the 4th cardinal from India and the first curial cardinal of Asia outside of the Middle East.

Cardinal Lourdusamy was born in Kalleri, (Archdiocese of Pondicherry), India as seventh of twelve children.

He was the elder brother of priest and theologian late Fr. D. S. Amalorpavadass, who was killed in an automobile accident while travelling from Mysore to Bangalore. The two of them are credited with playing key roles with the implementation of Vatican II Council reforms in India and leading others to do the same.

He had his early education at St. Ann's in Tindivanam; and finished his high school studies at St. Joseph Higher School of Cuddalore; then, he entered St. Agnes's Minor Seminary in Cuddalore; completed major seminary education in Philosophy and Theology at St. Peter's Pontifical Seminary, Bangalore during 1946-1951.

He was ordained to the priesthood on 21 December 1951 by Archbishop Auguste-Siméon Colas, MEP, the then Archbishop of Pondicherry and Cuddalore.

He obtained a doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Urbaniana University (1953-1956).

On returning to India Fr. Lourdusamy served as Archdiocesan Chancellor and private secretary to Archbishop Ambrose Rayappan, as Editor of the archdiocesan weekly "Sarvaviyabhi".

Pope (now saint) John XXIII appointed Fr. Lourdusamy Auxiliary Bishop of Bangalore and Titular Bishop of Sozusa in Libya on 2 July 1962.

On 9 November 1964, he was promoted to titular archbishop of Filippi, and appointed the Coadjutor Archbishop of Bangalore.

He succeeded Archbishop Thomas Pothacamury as Archbishop of Bangalore on 11 January 1968.

Blessed Pope Paul VI appointed him as Secretary adjunct of the Pontifical Congregation of the Evangelization of Peoples, 2 March 1971.

Pope Saint John Paul II created Lourdusamy, Cardinal - Deacon of Santa Maria della Grazie alle Fornaci fuori Porta Cavalleggeri in the consistory of 25 May 1985. He was the fourth Cardinal from India and the first Curial Cardinal of Asia outside Middle East.

Cardinal Lourdusamy was named Perfect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches on 30 October 1985 and later resigned the post on 24th May 1991.

Pope John Paul II appointed him a member of several important Departments of Roman Curia, such as Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Congregation for the Causes of Saints, congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Congregation for Catholic Education, Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, Pontifical Commission for the Revision of the Code of Canon Law, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity etc.

After his retirement, he continued to live in Rome till his death. He did not have any serious health problems except for his dementia. May his soul rest in peace!

Mr. Arokiaswamy (60), Maternal Uncle of Rev. Fr. Gnanaprakam L

Parish Priest of Harapaur , Raichur Dist. passed away on June 1, 2014. His funeral Mass was held at 4 p. m, on Monday the 2nd June at T B Dam, Hospet. We pray for the repose of the soul of the departed and offer heartfelt condolences to the bereaved.

Thousands Rejoice Over The Dedication of New Church In Torangallu

TORANAGALLU, BELLARY, APRIL 27: Thousands witnessed the opening and dedication of the new church in Tornagallu, Bellary with great rejoicing.

Bishop Henry D'Souza, Bishop of Bellary dedicated the church of the Holy Spirit in the steel township.
Tornagallu is popularly called the steel town, 30 Kms away from Bellary. It is one of the largest steel producing mill in India.

Justice Shri Rajeshwaran, of Tamil Nadu, Dr. Vinod Nawal, deputy managing director, JSW Steel Works, Sri. Siddalingappa, M.P.Koppal and many more dignitaries graced the occasion.

Many priests, religious and lay faithful and well wishers enthusiastically participated in the programme.

In his homily Bishop D'Souza said, "this church though it is a house built by human hands, yet it will be a place that would proclaim the initiative of the One who alone builds the house, and deigns to live among his beloved people."

"All Christians, aware that they are the living stones need to be aware of their sacred call to live a life of holiness, living a life proper to the disciples of Jesus, thus contributing to the renewal and revitalization of the Church - transforming it into a more vibrant and a living community, added Bishop.

"In the majesty of church's building is a symbol of the spiritual temple that is built up in souls, resplendent with the glory of divine grace" reminded Bishop.

Bishop also recalled with gratitude the service of the pioneers, late Frs. Sahayanathan and Ajit A. Pai of happy memory who in served in the parish.

The Tornagallu mission was initiated in 1995 by late Bishop Joseph D'Silva.

Fr. Francis Bashyam, parish priest gratefully acknowledged the donors and benefactors in constructing the new church.

Bishop Henry appreciated and thanked Fr. Francis Bashyam for his effective pastoral leadership and team work with the local parish council.

The Bishop proudly declared at the occasion, "This is the largest church in the diocese of Bellary!"

The elegant architecture of the new church was designed by Mr. Sunny, a young emerging architect from Bellary.

Naveen Lobo, vice president of the Parish Pastoral Council, anchored the entire program.

The solemn event began with a procession at 10 am and ended with a sumptuous meal at the end.