Events
Fr. Mark Gonsalves Great Friend of the Poor And Able Administrator Passes Away

BELLARY, MAR. 19: Fr. Mark Gonsalves, former Vicar General, Chancellor and Diocesan Finance Officer of Bellary passed away at 4.15 pm on March 19, in Udupi. He was 63.

He was at his Sister's place at the time of death. He collapsed all of a sudden while having tea.

Diocese of Bellary is grateful to Fr. Mark Gonsalves for his dedicated pastoral ministry over the last 36 years.

He was the Vicar General and Chancellor of the Diocese in the year 2005-09 and Financial Administrator for over 20 years and member of College of Consulters for 5 terms.

Fr. Mark was a good writer and an excellent orator. During his tenure as the Procurator of the Diocese he started the Diocesan Magazine "Bala Spoorty".

As a priest filled with compassion, he promoted the Prison Ministry in the Diocese.

He also initiated the "Inter-religious Dialogue, Ecumenical Forum through which the diocese was able to address different issues.

His other pastoral assignments were at Cathedral (1981), Fort (1982-83), CCFT Center Jawalgera (1983-86), Sirwar (1986-89), Asst. Finance Officer (1989-90), Diocesan Finance Officer (1990-2009), Sindhanur (2009- 12) and finally Kurugodu (2012-15).

He had served the Lord like the wise steward of the Gospel whole heartedly and worked hard despite many difficulties and challenges.

He retired from active pastoral ministry in April, 2015 due to ill health. Thereafter he took residence in the Senior Priests' Home, Bellary.

He had been suffering from acute diabetic for many years. And he had kidney transplantation in June, 2016 at St. John's Medical College Hospital, Bangalore.

However, his health condition did not improve. He was hospitalized for many months.

Fr. Mark Gonslaves was born on 21st June 1953 on the feast day of St. Aloysius Gonzaga and died on 19th March of the feast day of St. Joseph, the patron of happy death.

He was born at Barkur, Udupi District to Ignatius Gonsalves and Mary Gonsalves.

He had his primary education at Maryknoll Primary School and Secondary School in National High School, Barkur. He graduated from St. Philomena's College, Mysore.

He was ordained for the Diocese of Bellary on 04 February 1981. His other priest companions are Frs. Gnanapragasam T, Antonyraj P., and Lourdu Marianna.

He was a great lover and protector of the poor and needy. He went out to meet the poor, needy and the sick and was generous in helping them. He knew the "smell of his sheep".

May his soul rest in peace!

Gentle Fr.Inniah Kondavity Dies After Prolonged Illness

BELLARY, MAR.14. 2017: Fr. Inniah Kondavity passed away at 2.15 pm, March 14 in St. Mary's Hospital at Bellary. He was 71.

His funeral will be held at 10 am tomorrow with a funeral Mass in St. Anthony's Cathedral followed by burial in Cowl Bazaar cemetery.

Fr. Inniah was ordained for the in the diocese of Bellary 21 December 1971. He served the diocese of Bellary for 46 long years. His first appointment was Assistant priest at St. Antony's Cathedral.

Fr Inniah was born in Kilacheery, Chengalpet District Tamil Nadu to late Joseph and Clara Kondavity. He was the eldest of the two children. He is survived by his sister Mrs. Fatima Kondavity.

He was the pioneer in establishing Siruguppa Mission. The church and presbytery work was initiated by Fr. Inniah in 1977.

He was entrusted with the work of vocation promotion by late Bishop Ambrose P. Yeddanapalli. He was instrumental in bringing some of the candidates to priesthood from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Fr. Inniah while he was parish priest of Jawalgera in 1978, took care of the Christian flock in Burma rehabilitation Camp near Sindhanur which later became a parish. He was instrumental in building the drinking water tank for the people of Jawalgera.

Fr. Inniah served as a chaplin, St. John's Medical College Hospital, Bangalore for five years (1986-91).

He was also the Diocesan Director of Pontifical Mission Societies and Secretary, Karnataka Regional Commission for Family and Laity.

Later, he took up pastoral responsibility in Sacred Heart Church, Brockton, Massachusetts, Boston Archdiocese, USA (1991-96).

He returned to the diocese 1997 and was appointed Parish Priest of Shaktinagar, and Manager of Blessed Alphonsa School.

He served as the Director, St. Martin's Home, Manager of St. Joseph's Boys' School (1998- 2002) and Parish Priest of St. Antony's Cathedral (2002-2008).

He retired from active pastoral ministry in September 2008 due to his ill health.

He was suffering with acute diabetic mellitus and cardiovascular diseases for many years.

Fr. Inniah was very ill on 09.03.2017, immediately was admitted to the local St. Mary's Hospital in Bellary and was administered the last sacraments. His condition remained very critical for the last 5 days. He breathed his last peacefully today, surrounded by his sister, friends and priests.

His mortal remains are kept at the senior priests' home - Bethany for people to pay their last respects.

Fr. Inniah loved the diocese. May his soul rest in peace!

Navajeevana Rehabilitation Centre Turns Silver

BELLARY, FEB. 28: Silver jubilee celebrations were held at Nava Jeevana Centre for the physically challenged at Bellary on February 28.

A concelebrated thanksgiving Holy Eucharist led by Bishop Henry D'Souza and many priests from the diocese marked the occasion.

In his homily the Bishop stated "Nava Jeevana Centre is one of the precious pearls of the Catholic Diocese of Bellary. God's merciful love towards the downtrodden and the neglected is explicitly manifested here at Nava Jeevana ".

Bishop Henry D'Souza, Bishop of Bellary congratulated and thanked Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny for their great humanitarian service to the disabled children, street children and their families.

A felicitation program followed the Holy Eucharist. Sr. Narcisa Seqeuira, Provincial of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny reaffirmed service of the sisters to the people of Bellary.

The services former Superiors Sisters Theodore Issac, Esther, Carmela, Victoria, and Luciana were gratefully remembered and honoured at he occasion.

Also all those sisters, co-workers and collaborators Nava Jeevana were recognized for their services and honoured.

A documentary presentation of the various stages of growth of the centre was presented at the occasion. The inmates presented a colorful program.

Over a thousand children have been rehabilitated in the past 25 years at the centre.

The Diocese of Bellary had invited Cluny Sisters to render their service in this particular mission of uplifting the disabled and the disadvantaged.

The Cluny Sisters came to Bellary in 1987 and started their services in the Diocesan Pastoral Centre, near St. Antony's Cathedral.

In the year 1991, late Bishop Ambrose, with the help of Missio Aachen, constructed the Nava Jeevana Centre.

It was inaugurated on February 26, 1993.

Nava Jeevana Centre has been breathing New life, energy through its varied rehabilitation programs ultimately bringing human dignity, freedom, self confidence to many hundreds of lives specifically the disabled children who otherwise would have been abandoned by the society. It is their Home away home.

At the occasion one of senior priests of Bellary recalled the vision of Bishop Ambrose and how he accomplished the mission through the service of the sisters and Doctors from VIMS Medical college hospital, and many generous donars promoting the noble cause of service to the physically challenged children of Bellary, Raichur and Koppal districts.

In the year 2007 a branch for the visually challenged children was opened. In 2012 at the request of Bellary Deputy Commissioner Amalan Aditya Biswas, and at the intervention of Bishop Henry D'Souza, Bishop of Bellary the centre caters the needs of street children. It is noted here that at present more than 45 children have found their home here, at Nava Jeevana.

The New Nuncio Arrived In New Delhi

NEW DELHI, FEB 16: The New Apostolic Nuncio to India Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro arrived in India Feb. 16 morning.

He was received at the Delhi airport by the President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India Cardinal Baselios Cleemis.

Other to receive him were Syro-Malabar Major Archbishop Cardinal George Alencherry, Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi, CBCI Secretary General Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, Bishop Kuriakose Bharanikulangara of Faridabad, Bishop Jacob Mar Barnabas of Gurgaon and the officials from the Nunciature, Msgr. Henryk M. Jagodzinski and Msgr Tuomo T. Vimpari.

This is the new Apostolic Nuncio's first posting in an Asian country.

Pope Francis appointed a new Apostolic Nuncio to India and Nepal on Jan. 21. Italian Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro was serving as the Apostolic Nuncio to Bolivia.

The 62-year-old prelate takes over from Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, whom Pope Francis transferred to Poland as Apostolic Nuncio in August 2016.

Born in Bologna 1954, Archbishop Diquattro was ordained a priest for Ragusa Diocese in 1981. He was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Panama in April, 2005 and was ordained a bishop two months later. He was transferred to Bolivia as Apostolic Nuncio in November, 2008, where he has served until now.