BELAGAVI
Bishop of Belgaum Derek Fernandes has appealed to people to be the messengers of peace, to promote religious harmony and to be compassionate towards the underprivileged and marginalised.
He was delivering his Christmas message in presence of dignitaries across Belagavi on Wednesday evening.
Senior officials, bureaucrats, renowned personalities from across sections of society who visited the Bishop’s House on Wednesday evening to extend their greetings included Minister for Women Development and Child Welfare Laxmi Hebbalkar, KLES Chairman Dr Prabhakar Kore, MP Jagdish Shettar, MLA Raju Sair, IGP Vikash Kumar Vikash, Brigadier Joydeep Mukherjee, DC Mohammed Roshan, ZP CEO Rahul Shinde, Police Commissioner Iada Martin Marbaniang, SP Dr Bhimashankar Guled, Dr M D Dixit, Dr Girish Sonwalkar and Dr B H Metgud.
Speaking further, Bishop Fernandes said Christmas this year is very special as Christians across the globe are observing the 2025th Jubilee Year of the birth of Jesus Christ.
“Jesus was born for our sake, to save us from sin and reconcile with God. His birth signifies God’s love for humanity and desire to dwell amongst us. Let us resolve to keep Christ at the centre of our celebrations and our daily lives,” Bishop Fernandes said.
Along with the singing of Christmas carols, a Christmas cake was also cut in the presence of the dignitaries. Vicar General Fr Philip Kutty, Fr Gerald D’silva, Fr Pramod Kumar, Clara Fernandes and others were present on the occasion.
