Wanawadi Mar Thoma Church completes 70 years

Wanawadi Mar Thoma Church completes 70 years
- CAMIL PARKHE Friday, 14 March 2014 - 10:06 PM IST
Tags: St Peter's Mar Thoma Parish, Sapthathy, Wanawadi

Pune: St Peter's Mar Thoma Parish in Wanawadi, one of the oldest Malayali churches in the city, has launched its year-long 70 years' anniversary celebrations. 

The church congregation, established in 1943, now has 200 families.

The 70 years' anniversary or 'Sapthathy' celebrations were inaugurated by Bishop Dr Euyakim Mar Coorilos of Kottarakara Punalur Diocese in Kerala at a religious ceremony held on Saturday. The church's vicar, Rev Stanley Thomas, was also present. 

Maj (Retd) Mathew Oommen, one of the parishioners of the church, said that the history of the church began in 1943 when a group of Mar Thomas Christians from Kerala started worshipping as a congregation in the city. The congregation used to conduct its Malayalam religious services at St Mary's Church in Pune Camp.   

The congregation formally came to be recognised as St Peter's Church in 1967 and the land for the church building was acquired a year later. The present church building at Divyanagar in Wanawadi was inaugurated in 2009. 

As a part of the year-long 70 years anniversary, the church members have planned various activities including opening of palliative care unit, providing home for homeless, a 'day care centre'  and periodic medical camps.

Oommen said Mar Thoma Church Christians believe their church history is as old as 52 AD  when St Thomas, an apostle of Jesus Christ, preached Christianity in Kerala.

 

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My remote connection to Khushwant Singh

My remote connection to Khushwant Singh
Sakal Times - CAMIL PARKHE Saturday, 22 March 2014 - 09:23 PM IST
Tags: Khushwant Singh, Blue Star, death, Bikram Vohra, Camil Parkhe

"Khushwant Singh has returned his Padma Bhushan to protest against the 'Operation Blue Star'," the chief sub editor said excitedly as he rushed to the editor's cabin, flashing the teleprinter copy of the PTI news. The chief sub-editor's excitement was contagious as the announcement led to a surcharged atmosphere in The Navhind Times office at Panaji in Goa. It was 1984 and as the junior most reporter, I watched the subsequent heated discussion with amusement. 

The excitement over Khushwant Singh's news was very natural. All of us knew that our editor, Bikram Vohra, was a disciple of Khushwant Singh. He had started his journalism career with `The Illustrated Weekly of India' and Khushwant Singh was his first boss. Since joining The Navhind Times, I had heard the editor narrating many tales of Khushwant Singh.

There was a debate among the journalists on whether it was it was a good decision to return the coveted civilian award over the issue of Operation Blue Star. Although a staunch Indira Gandhi supporter, Khushwant had not liked the attack on the Darbar Sahib which he considered as the Vatican of the Sikh community.

But this debate was soon overshadowed by another debate. The question was: Does the news merit page one space? Our pipe smoking news editor who age wise and also experience-wise much senior to Bikram Vohra coolly announced that the news should go on inside pages. Others present there also nodded in approval.

The editor threw up his hands in exasperation. "Come on, have a heart! You know he was my first boss. OK, I'll use my veto power. The news will appear on page one, single column." All of us laughed, consenting to his veto power and dispersed to meet our newspaper deadline.

This incident flashed before my mind when I heard that Khushwant Singh was dead at 99.. Bikram Vohra who later left the Goa newspaper to pursue career in the gulf was my first boss in journalism. Like most newspapers in the country at that time, The Navhind Times too carried every week Khushwant's syndicated column, 'With malice towards one and all'. It was the most popular syndicated column of those days and I doubt whether any other newspaper column has ever surpassed this popularity.

Later I learnt more about Khushwant Singh as I read his books and realised that he was not the kind of person as was popularly believed. In his daily routine, he followed a strict discipline which only a few would dare to imbibe. He was the 'first boss' of my 'first boss' in journalism. But I would say Khushwant Singh can be truly called as the role model for all journalists and also for those in the field of research writings.  

Call for study on Bardeskars’ history, culture

Call for study on Bardeskars’ history, culture
- CAMIL PARKHE Sakal Times Monday, 14 October 2013 - 02:24 PM IST
Tags: Fr Savio Abreu, christians community, cultural festival, Konkani, Pune Konkani Kristha Sabha,Pune, Camil Parkhe, Pimpri

PIMPRI: Fr Savio Abreu, Director of Goa-based Xavier Centre of Historical Research, here on Sunday called for thorough research on the reasons for the mass exodus of Christians from Bardez taluka in Goa to borders areas of Maharashtra and Karnataka a few centuries ago, and their present culture, social history and Konkani language spoken by them. Addressing a get-together of the Pimpri Chinchwad unit of the Pune Konkani Kristha Sabha here on Sunday, Fr Abreu said that there are varied historical versions of the factors responsible for the exodus of Christians from Goa and that very little is known about this community settled in Sindhudurg and Kolhapur districts in Maharashtra and Belgaum district in Karnataka. The get-together was held at the premises of the Church of Our Lady Consoler of the Afflicted in Pimpri. It was preceded by a mass celebrated by Fr Nelson Machado and Fr Augustine Fernandes.

This community, also referred to as Bardeskars, has in the recent witnessed second migration from Kolhapur, Sindhudurg and Belgaum districts to Pune and Mumbai, the Jesuit priest said, adding that it is remarkable that the Bardeskars have preserved their culture and language.

The priest said that the Society of Jesus ( Jesuits) in Goa had assigned him to conduct a study of the Bardeskars since their exodus from Goa three to four centuries ago and urged the people to intimate him about various literature, information available on the Bardeskars community. The study will help the Bardeskars, now settled in various parts of the world, and also their future generations to know their roots and legacy, he said.

Fr Augustine Fernandes from Khanapur in Belgaum district also addressed the gathering. Those who spoke on the occasion included Pune Konkani Kristha Sabha president Peter D'Souza, founder president Alphie Monteriro, Vincent Dias and Anjelo A Menezes.

Singing bishop Valerian turns 80, gets on facebook

Singing bishop turns 80, gets on facebook
- CAMIL PARKHE Thursday, 3 October 2013 - 10:41 AM IST Sakal Times
Tags: Bishop, Emeritus Valerian D'Souza, facebook, spiritual, Pune, Camil Parkhe

PUNE: Bishop Emeritus Valerian D'Souza who will turn 80 on Thursday has said that sharing online spiritual reflections has become his new ministry which keeps him busy post-retirement.

“I have over 2,000 friends on Facebook and one third of them are youngsters - below 30 years. Many of them 'like' my Sunday sermons regularly or also post their comments,” he says.

A former student of St Vincent's High School in Pune, D'Souza was consecrated as the fifth bishop of Pune diocese in 1977. He held the post for 31 years and played an important role in the establishment and development of various church-run schools and social institutions in the diocese. During his tenure, Pune diocese was bifurcated twice to form Nashik diocese in 1987 and Sindhudurg diocese in 2005.

'When I took over as the bishop, the jurisdiction of Pune diocese included 11 districts - from Nandurbar in Khandesh to Sawantwadi in Konkan region. The areas I travelled on roads during those days as part of my pastoral ministry was equivalent to going around the Earth three times,” the bishop emeritus told Sakal Times.

D'Souza is known as the 'singing bishop' due to his penchant for singing and playing guitar during his preachings in churches. 'The man from Galilee' is one of my favourite songs,” he says.

Playing host to the visit of Pope John Paul II to Pune on February 10, 1984 was one of the major events during his tenure. “ Anywhere in the world, in his address, the Pope always spoke a few words in local languages.

The Pope was pleasantly surprised when while welcoming him at the Ramwadi grounds in the city , I spoke in his mother tongue, Polish,” recalls D'Souza.

THANKSGIVING MASS

Bishop Valerian D'Souza will celebrate a thanksgiving mass on his 80th birthday at St Patrick’s Cathedral at 6 pm on October 3.

Fr Rudolf Schoch remembered on 100th birth anniversary

Father Rudolf Schoch remembered on 100th birth anniversary
- CAMIL PARKHE Sakal Times Sunday, 29 September 2013 - 02:15 PM IST
Tags: Father Rudolf Schoch, Jesuits, St Vincent's High School, Loyola High School

Pune: The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) paid rich tributes to the late Fr Rudolf Schoch, educationist and former principal St Vincent's High School and Loyola High School on his 100th birth centenary on Friday.

Fr Schoch, born in Basel, Switzerland on September 27, 1913, had taught thousands of students when he was a teacher and principal at various  Jesuit-run schools in Pune and Ahmednagar districts. He had served as a member of the Senate of the University of Pune and on the Maharashtra School Board for many years.

Fr Schoch played an important role in the foundation of  the Dnyanmata High School in Sangamner in Ahmednagar district in 1948 and the Loyola High School in Pune in 1960. He is especially remembered for introduction of  the German language in the University of Pune curriculum and in the founding of the Max Mueller Bhavan in the city.  

Recalling services of Fr Schoch,  Fr Bhausaheb Sansare, Head of the Pune Jesuit province, described the late educationist as a great visionary and excellent financial administrator.  “Fr Schoch guided thousands of his pupils and also moulded their characters. He lived a very simple life,”  Fr Sansare said. 

Schoch had joined the Society of Jesus, a congregation of Catholic priests, in 1932 and came to India in 1938. In Pune, he studied Marathi and Sanskrit and also taught at St Jude's High School in Dehu Road between 1946-48. 

He also translated some abhangs of  Sant Tukaram  into German. Fr Schoch died in Pune in 2001 at the age of 88.  

Anup Y Attavar, an ex-student of the St Vincent's High School said, “Fr Schoch was an institution by himself and motivated us students to excel. His commitment to high moral values helped him make gentlemen out of the boys.”

Our Lady of Lourdes, France

Our Lady of Lourdes, France

Sakal Times blog

http://www.sakaaltimes.com/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4799455696387932904&SectionId=4861338933482912746&SectionName=Blog&NewsDate=20130905&NewsTitle=Our%20Lady%20of%20Lourdes,%20France

We checked into the hotel rooms at Lourdes pilgrim town in France and soon left for the site where Mother Mary is believed to said to appeared to teenager Bernadette Soubirous  in 1858.  My wife Jacqueline, daughter Aditi and I joined the hundreds of pilgrims who were heading towards the basilica built near the site of the apparition. Lourdes is one of the most visited Catholic pilgrim centres in the world. What we experienced during the next three days of our stay in this small town was just unforgettable. The ongoing novena prayers in honour of Mother Mary and her feast on September 8 have refreshed my memories of the days we spent in Lourdes.

We reached at the large ground in front of the impressive Rosary basilica. There were hundreds of wheelchair-bound patients queued up to participate in the evening candle-lit procession during which the devotees said rosary and litany prayers in French, English and other languages. Sick people from various places In Europe and elsewhere are especially brought here to seek their healing. Incidentally the wheel-chairs were moved not by the relatives of the sick but by local volunteers and professional health nurses clad in white and blue uniforms. Lourdes city has indeed seen prosperity due the flourishing pilgrim tourism there. The city is one of the most important centres of Marian devotion, the other being Fatima in Portugal and Vailankanni in India. Some group of devotees in the procession were carrying banners of their nations from various continents and looking at them I wished I too should have prepared a banner of India!

The next morning, we visited the grotto, the site of Mother Mary's apparition. Mary is said to have appeared to peasant girl Bernadette 18 times. A small statue of Mary is placed up higher in the grotto and masses celebrated daily at the site are attended by thousands of visiting devotees. During our visit, a German bishop and an Italian cardinal concelebrated the mass there and me and my family members were privileged to meet both of them, thanks to a Catholic priest who was accompanying us on our Europe tour.

The visit to the Saint Pius X Basilica on the third day of our stay left all of us bewildered. The underground basilica accommodates as many as 25,000 people and is one of the largest churches in the world. International masses with prayers in major world languages are celebrated at the basilica on every Wednesday and 
Sunday morning. Pope John Paul II - the pilgrim pontiff who set a record of visiting a large number of nations - had visited Lourdes first in 1983 and later in 2004.

Lourdes is indeed a beautiful and very clean tourism centre. During our stay there, we walked for a long distance admiring the landscape there, the clean sky blue waters of the river flowing just opposite the grotto and shopping at the local shops. The large number of photographs taken there have helped me to keep afresh memories of this picturesque town.

Puneites hail choice of ‘fellow Jesuit’ as Pope Francis

Puneites hail choice of ‘fellow Jesuit’ as Pope
- CAMIL PARKHE Sakal Times Friday, 15 March 2013 - 03:19 PM IST
Tags: Jesuit, church, catholic church, pope, Pune, Camil Parkhe

PUNE: The news of election of a Jesuit as the new pope led to joyous celebrations at various Jesuit institutions in the city on Thursday. This has been for the first time that a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) has been elected as the pontiff.

Pune Jesuit Provincial Father Bhausaheb Sansare who is incidentally in Rome to attend the Provincials Colloquium said that he was privileged to witness the new pope’s election at the Vatican on Wednesday.

“My phone has been ringing since this morning and I have received many emails, congratulating us the Jesuits on one of us being elevated to the post of the pope,” said Fr Bertie Rosario, former principal of St Vincent’s High School. Sr Santan Nago, Superior General of the Sisters of Our Lady of Fatima, said that she is looking forward to meeting the new pope when the heads of congregation of nuns from all over the world will meet in Rome in the first week of May, this year.

Incidentally, the Sisters of Our Lady of Fatima is the only nuns congregation having its headquarters in the city. Most of the Catholic religious congregations have their headquarters either in Rome or other parts of the country.

Jesuit scholar Fr Noel Sheth has termed the pope’s elections as a new milestone in the history of the Catholic Church. “The third world countries now have someone who knows first-hand their struggles, difficulties and problems, Joe Kasbe from Vadgaonsheri said that he was happy that a the conclave of cardinals has chosen an Argentine as the new pope. “ However I would have been happier if a cardinal from Asia were elected as the pontiff,” he added.

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