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Veneration of St. Anthony's Relic, Parish Feast and First Holy Communion

09 June 2018: The Gospad mission was in a festive mood to celebrate the Feast of St. Anthony, the Patron Saint. Added to this festive mood, the parishioners of Gospad mission were privileged to venerate the Holy Relic of St, Anthony and twenty of its children were ready to receive the First Holy Communion.

The people gathered at the entrance of the village in hundreds as the well-decked vehicle was ready to ferry the Relic. The Relic of St Anthony was devoutly held by Br. Praveen Henry D' Souza, the Minister Provincial as the procession sang songs, beat drums and moved devotedly towards the Parish Church.

The procession was led by the Cross bearers, the First Holy Communicants clad in white, the drummers, the parishioners and the friar priests. Having reached the church, Fr. Mareddy, the Vicar Forane, blessed the ground and laid the foundation for the construction of the new grotto dedicated to Our Lady.

The Solemn Eucharist was presided over by Br Praveen, the Minister Provincial while Brs. Amal M, Bhaskar, Pushparaj, Madhu Sudhan, Praveen ofmcap and Fr Mareddy, the Vicar Forane. Br. Ranjit Thumma, the Parish Priest welcomed the parishioners and the celebrants and introduced the significance of the day: the Day of Pentecost, the Day of Parish Feast and the Day of the First Holy Communion.

Br. Madhu Sudhan in his homily highlighted the Feast of Pentecost explaining to the people the significance of the Holy Spirit in the life of every faithful and the dynamic role of the Holy Spirit in shaping the life of every individual Christian. Quoting inspiring events in the life of St. Anthony, he made his case very well why St. Anthony should be an inspiration for the Christians. He moved among the First Holy Communion Children interacting with them about the essence of the Eucharist and encouraging them to cherish and relish this moment in every Eucharist.

Soon after the Eucharist, there was a felicitation programme in which Brs. Praveen, Bhaskar and Fr. Mareddy were adorned with a shawl and garland as a sign of gratitude for their presence and prayers. The children and youth presented a cultural programme which made the hunger of the people disappear as the enjoyed the every minute of the dances performed by their own.

After the Cultural Prorgramme, the faithful flocked to the church to pay their respect and veneration to the Holy Relic of St. Anthony. The entire parish community then partook in the sumptuous meal prepared for all.

A special mention must be made about Br Ranjit Thumma, the Parish Priest who is young and dynamic manifested an untiring spirit in working hard to ensure that everything was arranged for the Feast and everything went on well. Together with the youth and parish community, Br. Ranjith organized the day of celebration in a systematic manner and won the appreciation of all. Br. Arokiaraj and Br. Thomas A , the members of St. Francis Friary in Gospad Mission, rendered their support and encouragement to make this day into another memorable day in the life of Gospad Mission.

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