Rosario Cathedral 450th Jubilee celebrations

Team Udayavani, Nov 18, 2018, 12:26 PM IST

Mangaluru: Rosario Cathedral is the first Catholic Church in the undivided Mangalore diocese and is celebrating its 450^th jubilee on November 18^th.

In recognition of the 450^th year jubilee of the cathedral which is dedicated to our lady of rosary, the year 2018 will be celebrated as the year of rosary. As a part of this celebration, a massive exhibition of rosary was organised at Rosario Cathedral from Nov 9^th to 12^th 2017 and at Milagres Church Hall from Sep 29-30 2018.

History

In 1568 CE, when the Portuguese arrived to Mangaluru they built a church at the location where lies the present Cathedral. A statue of our lady of rosary, which was found by fishermen during fishing, has been installed here. In 1784 CE, Tipu Sultan had desecrated and demolished the church. However in 1813 CE, the Catholics who were captives of Tipu gained their freedom, returned back and rebuilt the church. The church was declared a Cathedral in 1850 CE. 2018 is the 450^th year of the Cathedral.

Today is the celebration ceremony

The 450^th Jubilee celebrations were inaugurated on Jan 7^th 2018 and the celebration ceremony will be held on Sunday November 18^th. The ceremony which will begin at 6:30 pm in the evening at the Cathedral grounds will be presided over by the Bishop Rev Dr Peter Paul Saldanha. Many elite guests will be taking part in the ceremony including the Emeritus Bishop Rev Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza, Msgr Lawrence Maxim Noronha, Karnataka Provincial Rev Fr Stanislaus D’Souza SJ, Minister U T Khader, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, Rajya Sabha member Oscar Fernandes and others.

Prior to the ceremony, the holy mass will be celebrated under the leadership of Rev Dr Peter Machado, Archbishop Bengaluru. Bishops from various dioceses and priests will be taking part in the holy mass.

In relation to the celebration, different plans costing close to Rs 7 lakh will be held. Under the plans it has been aimed to provide ownership certificates to 10 families, repair of 10 homes, distribution of medical aid and to provide rehabilitation.