LONDON
Goans along with the Irish community celebrated the Feast of St Anthony with traditional fervour at St Anthony's Church, Kilcoole, County Wicklow, Ireland, on June 13.
Fr Placido Valerian Ferrao, a Capuchin Priest from Guirim, was the main celebrant, while Fr Valerian Castelino from the Patrick Peyton Centre Balina, County Mayo, Ireland, who hails from Mangalore, was the concelebrant.
Fr Placido, who is pursuing his priestly studies in Rome, was specially invited to celebrate the Feast Mass.
There was a lot of enthusiasm among the Goans as they decorated the pedestal of St Anthony and welcomed the congregation before the Eucharist.
Despite their busy work schedule, most Goans made time for the celebration and took a day off to make the Feast a great success. Goans from various Irish counties attended the Feast Mass.
The choir comprising Marcus (Curtorim), Joaquina (Arambol), Cleta (Arambol), Jennifer (Caranzalem), Veshural (Porvorim), Eldercy (Navelim), Olivia (Divar), Tanya (Reis Magos), Valentino (Arambol) and Newton (Ribandar - keyboards) led the congregation in the hymns.
In his homily, Fr Placido Valerian called upon Goans to spread the message of love of Jesus and walk in the footsteps of St Anthony to stay united wherever they are in the world.
Fr Valerian Castelino exclaimed that he was happy to see the amalgamation of the Irish with the Goans and said that it was a grand sign of accepting and accommodating Goans by the Irish community in Ireland.
Newton De Souza from Ribandar thanked all those who worked tirelessly to make the Feast celebration a great success.
A small fellowship with coffee, tea and snacks was organised at the end of the Eucharistic celebration where the Goans wished, interacted with each other and expressed their delight to be part of such celebrations and anticipated more such occassions in the future.
Yohan, a native of Curtorim, felt Goans need to organise similar celebrations and occasions as it gives Goans an opportunity to meet and break barriers amongst them as most are busy with their jobs.
Valentino Fernandes from Arambol, who was the Convener of the Feast celebration, said the number of Goans attending the Feast has swelled over the years
“It is a clear indication that Goans are inching towards uniting and has understood the essence of togetherness especially when they are away from their homeland,” said Valentino.
The Feast was livestreamed and this enabled many Goans from UK, Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, Dubai, Qatar, Goa and other parts of India to participate in the Eucharistic celebrations in Ireland.
