the goan I network
MARGAO
The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) on Monday opened Shanti Sadan, the extension of its secretariat at Benaulim.
Cardinal Oswald Cardinal Gracias, the Archbishop of Bombay, opened the secretariat, while Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrão and CCBI president unveiled the plaque in the presence of bishops, including CCBI vice president Archbishop George Antonysamy of Madras, Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi and the CCBI secretary general, priests and the laity at Benaulim on Monday evening.
The 3-storied building has 25 self-contained rooms and can accommodate around 40 persons. It has a chapel, conference room and dining halls.
Cardinal Oswald Gracas, who concelebrated a thanksgiving mass in the chapel, later told the media that some of the offices of the CCBI Secretariat will be shifted to the Shanti Sadan at Benaulim. “The new secretariat will be used to conduct meetings. Bishops from all over the country will come here for meetings. The building will also be used to impart training for priests,” Cardinal Gracias said, while expressed his gratitude to the Fabrica of Benaulim.
Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao welcomed Cardinal Gracias, besides the bishops and priests for the opening of Shanti Sadan. Fr Ayres Fernandes, executive secretary to the CCBI Commission for Liturgy has been appointed as the administrator of the house.
CCBI has 16 commissions and three departments where 23 personnel work as executive secretaries or directors.
The CCBI is the largest bishops’ conference in Asia and the fourth largest in the world. It consists of 132 dioceses with 190 bishops.
