PANAJI
Auxiliary Bishop of Goa and Daman, Simiao Fernandes, inaugurated the new Pastoral Year 2025-26 and released the Pastoral Letter during a solemn Jubilee celebration of the Pastoral Secretariat in the Parish Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Valpoi, on June 1 at 8.30am.
The Letter by Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao was addressed to the Priests, Religious, Lay Faithful, and the People of Goodwill in the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman. The Letter elaborates the Pastoral theme of the Year, “Hope Does Not Disappoint Us (Rom. 5:5)”.
After a warm welcome to the Bishop by Parish Priest Fr Winston Barbosa and Assisting Priest Fr Jaime Robert Fernandes, the logo and theme of the Pastoral Year were unveiled, and the Pastoral Year was declared open.
In his homily, Fr Leo Fernandes, Executive Secretary of the Pastoral Secretariat, while emphasising the theme, highlighted that the Catholic faithful have to be agents of hope in the parish and society, especially by reaching out to the needy, outcasts, and those on the peripheries.
He also urged the faithful to be active participants in their parishes, while giving a clarion call to the youth to be true instruments of hope and transformation, reminding them that they are not just the future but the present of the Church and society.
At the end of the Mass, the Pastoral Letter and Bull of Indiction were released at the hands of Auxiliary Bishop Fernandes.
Bishop Fernandes gave a brief summary of the Pastoral Letter, saying that it focussed on the Ordinary Jubilee 2025 and was based on the theme ‘Hope Does Not Disappoint Us’. The Pastoral Letter 2025-2026 introduces people to ‘Hope’ in general, in the Bible, and in the Magisterium.
In the main part of the Letter, in the light of Sacred Scriptures and the Bull of Indiction given by the late Pope Francis, Cardinal Ferrao gives practical suggestions to be a lighthouse of hope to prisoners, people with disabilities, the sick and elderly, migrants, the poor, youth, family, and creation at the diocesan, deanery, and parish level.
Summarising the whole Letter, in the conclusion, Cardinal Ferrao presents two models of hope, namely, Mother Mary and St Joseph Vaz.
Fr Leo Fernandes, Executive Secretary of the Pastoral Secretariat of the Archdiocese, coordinated the event along with the previous Parish Priest Fr Santana Gama, present Parish Priest Fr Winston Barbosa, and Co-coordinator Fr Jaime Robert Fernandes. The Diocesan Centre for Social Communications Media, Goa, helped with the media and communication arrangements.
People from different walks of life, including migrants, people with disabilities, and representatives from different parishes of Bicholim Deanery participated in the celebration.
