A new church in Vijayawada Diocese, Andhra Pradesh, was blessed and inaugurated on May 25.
Bishop Telagathoti Raja Rao of Vijayawada accompanied by Bishop Rayarala Vijay Kumar P.I.M.E, of Srikakulam led the ceremony at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church at Gudivada.
This celebration has begun with a procession by the devotees, priests, and nuns from the church gate to the entrance.
After cutting the ribbon, Bishop Rao gave the key to the new church to Father Ganta Praveen who opened Our Lady of Mount Carmel church for hundreds of people to enter.
Then, the bishop blessed the statues, new altar, and Blessed Sacrament.
The Catholic Faith of this parish dates back to 1931. This church is in the Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, about 45 km south of Amaravathi, the state capital.
The parish was bifurcated from Vennanapudi and was canonically erected as a parish in September 1931.
First Parish Priest Monsignor A Bianchi P.I.M.E was in a rented house to procure a place to build the parish. In those days, he pastorally guided the Catholics living in 41 villages.
He has purchased 3.5 acres of land to build the parish church and the presbytery.
His successor Father A. Mariani baptized people from the village in 1934. Later, the Sacred Heart Hospital was constructed and opened on Aug 15, 1948.
Father Francis Sales rebuilt the parish church in 1974, and Father Mathew Thoppil built the new presbytery in 1988.
At present, there are more than 220 Catholic families, said Father Ganta Praveen, the parish priest.
"I think this building will help these people understand the value of faith and the value of seeking God more,” he said.
Over 110 priests, 60 nuns, and Catholics from 12 substations attended the program.
Father Gudapati Joji Pratap Kumar, the parish priest of Kondapavuluru, and Father Bantumilli Yohan, the parish priest of Goodmanpet, Vijayawada Diocese, with Sisters of Nirmala convent, led the choir.
“Now, we have a bigger church that shows the growth of people’s faith over the years,” said Father Bandi Kiran, the assistant parish priest.
This parish has nearly 4000 Catholics.
The Diocese of Vijayawada is composed of 103 parishes for 3,50,000 Catholics.
As many as 276 priests and 795 nuns work in various pastoral ministries. - With a report from Pujitha Nagalli/RVA Telugu Service
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
Latest News
