Dr. Peter Machado was installed as the new archbishop of Bengaluru at St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral grounds here on Thursday, May 31, 2018. Several archbishops, bishops, scores of priests besides nuns and thousands of lay faithful and special invitees witnessed the two and a half hour installation ceremony. The process of installation began with Fr S Jayanathan, vicar general, reading out the papal letter to this effect. Fr Xavier Fernandes, representative of Vatican ambassador, read out the same content in Latin as well.
His Grace Archbishop Moras of Archdiocese of Bangaluru, presented a brief introduction and before commencing the Mass. The installation ceremony began after the readings. Dr. Machado was seated on the cathedral (a special canopy like a chair) and presented him with the keys of the cathedral. Dr. Machado was also presented with a mitre and staff. The new archbishop recited the creed and read out a list of commitments both religious and temporal which come within the scope of his duties to look after the church and its affairs. As reported by daijiworld.com, His Grace Archbishop Machado made it amply clear to empower the laity and remarked that “It is also sacred to care for the poor as poverty is the face of the Church. We are called to remember and take along the poor and take care of them.” He urged all presented to have strong faith in God at all times. The new archbishop also reminded the faithful that service to humanity is service to God. Dr. Machado whose appointment as archbishop was announced on March 19, 2018, greeted all in their own languages, namely Tamil, Malayalam, and Konkani.
After the Eucharist, Archbishop Moras was thanked before bidding farewell. Msgr C Francis, vicar general, spoke high of Archbishop Moras and highlighted his leadership qualities and development works he had carried out during the past 14 years for the Archdiocese of Bengaluru. Msgr Francis had a long list to narrate on several aspects of Archbishop Moras besides his exuberant and able leadership to guide the diocese tirelessly taking along all with him. He wished him good health, long life of peace and joy. His interest in empowering the lay faithful is indeed commendable. Presently, he is the chairman of the Catholic Council of Karnataka and as such he is involving the laity in all the welfare activities in the region. The provision of his appointment was made public in Rome by Holy Father Pope Francis on Monday, 19th March, 2018, at noon local time, corresponding to 16:30 hours, Indian Standard Time.
Source: www.daijiworld.com
