The Catholics of Patna and Bihar celebrate 100 years of the Catholic community’s contribution to the development of Bihar, and give thanks to the Lord for providing them the numerous opportunities to be of service to others. Some thousand Catholics turned up to greet papal Delegate and Vatican Ambassador His Excellency Archbishop Giambattista Diqattro, as he, along with seven invited bishops walked into the premises of the Queens of Apostles Church to inaugurate the year long centenary celebrations of the Patna Diocese.
The Centenary celebrations of the Patna Archdiocese started off with the visiting bishops’ release of a bunch of blue and white balloons, the colors of Our lady, and the planting of saplings. The Inaugural Holy Mass was conducted with devotion and elegance in English and Hindi.
His Grace Archbishop William D’Souza announced that His Holiness Pope Francis has given permission for a special Apostolic Blessing to be given to the people of Patna Archdiocese on the occasion of the Centenary year. This special Apostolic Blessing shall be conferred on the faithful at the Mokameh Shrine on the first Sunday of February in the coming year. Later, the papal nuncio and visiting bishops were felicitated at the Inaugural celebration held at the Hartmann school grounds. While offering centenary congratulations to what he termed as the ‘Young Catholic Church of Patna’, His Excellency Archbishop Giambattista spoke of the spirit of communion that keeps the church alive and flourishing. He conveyed the greetings and blessings of His Holiness Pope Francis, and emphasized that the Church of God is essentially a church in the service of others.
Catholic Students from Hartmann school, Notre Dame Academy, Loyola School, St Joseph’s Convent,St. Michael’s school, put on an entertaining cultural evening of music and dance that showcased different cultural aspects of Bihar.
Source: newnetone.com
