The Malankara Syrian Catholic Church

THE EPHREMITE

Bulletin of the Exarchate of St Ephrem, Khadki - Pune

VOL V | NO.7| November 2019

Exarchate of St. Ephrem51 Bhau Patil RoadBopodi - 411 020

Pune, Maharashtra

VOL V | NO. 7| November 2019

BULLETIN OF THE EXARCHATE OF ST. EPHREM KHADKI - PUNE

THE MALANKARA SYRIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

1. Voice of The Exarch

2. Nirmal Hriday Minor Seminary News

3. Catechism Department News

4. Birthdays and Feast Days

5. Exarchate District News

6. Institutional News

7. Important Dates to Note

8. MCYM News

9. Notifications From the Chancellery

10. Mission News

11. Bishop's Diary

CONTENTSPATRONH.E. Thomas Mar Anthonios OICApostolic Exarch

EDITOR Fr. Melwin Mathew OIC The Chancellor

CIRCULATIONLocal Parish Priests

DESIGN LAYOUTAnita Printers

PROOFMrs Julie Phillip, Borivili & Ms Bincy Daniel, Vikhroli & Mr Binu Daniel, Vikhroli

DISTRIBUTIONShibin Mathew, Bishop’s House Office

CORRESPONDENTSTom, Angel, Sojisha, Binu, Sijo, Cibi, Jinu, Nithin, Aksa Rajan, Jerome, Jerin James, Lijo, Libin, Bincy, Shibu, Beena, Jacob, C E Joy, Anish, John, Jeffi, Abraham, Preethy, Teeja, Joicy, Thomas, Shiju Thomas, Benson & Sabu

PRINTINGAnita Printers, Wadgaonsheri, Pune

PUBLISHED BY The ChancellorExarchate of St. Ephrem,51 Bhau Patil Road, Bopodi, PuneMaharashtra, India

©Copyright With Exarchate of St. Ephrem

For private circulation only

VOICE OF THE EXARCH

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ,

Greetings, love and blessings to one and all! Hope you are all fine. My prayers accompany you. I know that I am strengthened by your prayers. We are united in the Lord!

The month of October was a blessing to us. As a Church we celebrated our II MSCC Assembly at Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram on 8 and 9 October. It was really a fruitful event in the life of our Church. The assembly under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the leadership of our beloved Bava Thirumeni discerned ways and means to make our families as 'grace filling families.' We are now awaiting a Post Assembly Exhortation from our Bava Thirumeni after the Holy Episcopal Synod. This Exhortation would be the final document that contains the vision, mission and practical strategies that we adopt as a Church on our grace filling mission.

The month of October as I had mentioned in my previous 'Voice of the Exarch' was declared by Pope Francis as an Extra Ordinary month of the mission. Responding to this initiative of the Holy Father the Bishops of our Church under the dynamic and visionary leadership of our Bava Thirumeni decided to share the burden of missionary activities and help the missions especially in our Exarchate and the Eparchy of Gurgaon. Every eparchy in Kerala has adopted missions elsewhere and we as an Exarchate are not just a receiving Church but also a sharing Church as we have also adopted a mission in the eparchy of Marthandom namely Njalam mission. I am happy to announce that other than the Igatpuri mission all our missions as of today have been adopted by our sister eparchies. It has brought out the fact that mission is our collective responsibility.

As a Church we are also blessed with a new saint in the person of St. Mariam Theresia. She was canonized on 13 October. She is the patroness of families and in our context as we reflect on grace filling families we have got a new saint to intercede for our families. She and all other saints remind us of the fact that to be a saint is not an impossibility. Are you ready to say yes, be

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courageous and take up your cross to move with Christ. Pope Francis tells us that to be a Saint is a universal call and each one of us by our very call and baptism are called to be saints.

Let us enter a New Liturgical Year!

As usual, we are entering a new Liturgical Year, on Sunday, November 3, with the Kudosh Itho Sunday, the Sunday of sanctification of the Church. With this we enter the first Liturgical season of Suboro or the Season of the Annunciation, the annunciation of the unfolding mystery and history of salvation, beginning with the annunciation of the birth of John the Baptist, the precursor of the Lord, leading to the annunciation of the incarnation of the Word of God Jesus Christ from the Blessed Virgin Mary. We then prepare for Christmas, the birth of the Saviour, Jesus. I wish you a good beginning and a fruitful new Liturgical Year!

Priest Retreat

Myself and the priests and of our Exarchate will be doing their annual retreat from November18 to 22, 2019 in Pune. It is an occasion of spiritual renewal for us. I request all our beloved faithful whom we serve to be united with us in prayer.

Blessings!

We are ever grateful to the Lord for his providence. In our Exarchate, we are thankful to the Lord for the spiritual growth with which he blesses us always. We are inspired by the Holy Spirit to share the joy of the Gospel to those who have not come to the light of the Gospel. Relying on the Lord, I invoke on you and our homes, our priests, sisters, seminarians and the faithful, the love of God the Father, the grace of the only begotten son and the abiding love and communion of the Holy Spirit, now and always and forever! I entrust myself to your prayers.

Yours lovingly in Christ

Thomas Mar Anthonios OICX

Apostolic Exarch

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Annual Retreat :

The Minor Seminary conducted its annual retreat st rd

from 31 September to 3 October 2019 under the spiritual guidance of the preacher Rev. Fr. Abraham Murupel & Rev. Fr. Bosco Mohan from the Eparchy of Parashala.

Nirmal Hriday Minor Seminary News

Semester I Exam

l The first semester exam will be held on Sunday 17 November 2019 at 11am. Since this is a centralized exam, the exam will start at sharp 11am.

l Regular attendance for all the students from classes I to XII is mandatory to appear for the exam. However, in exceptional cases, if a student wants to write the exam without regular attendance, the written permission from parish vicar needs to be obtained.

l No student will be promoted to the next class without appearing for both the semester examinations.

Semester IIth

l The second semester will start on 24 November 2019.

Catechism Department News

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR FATHER…1. Very Rev. Msgr. Varghese Mattamana (Nov 20)

HAPPY FEAST DEAR FATHERS…1.Rev. Fr Sam Philip Puthuvelil (Nov 10)2.Rev. Samuel Thekkekavinal (Nov 103.Rev. Philip Pulipra (Nov 14)4.Rev. Philip Kaleeckal (Nov 14)5.Rev. Mathew Pallikunnel (Nov 16)6.Rev. Melwin Mathew Anthalil OIC (Nov 16)

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Exarchate District News

Mumbai District

District

Reunion Day Celebration: The Mumbai District level Reunion day celebration was held at St. Mary's Convent High School in Mulund on 6 October. The chief Guest for the celebration was Bishop Yoohanon Mar Theodosius, Bishop of Moovatupuzha. Msgr. Varghese Matamana also graced the occasion. The day started with the reception of the Bishop followed by the Morning Prayer and Holy Qurbono. It was followed by a Public Meeting during which the Centenary celebration of Bethany Ashram was held by felicitating the Bethany Priests of Mumbai district. Senior citizens, couples celebrating the Golden jubilee of their marriage, toppers of HSC and SSC were also later felicitated.

Sunday School News: For the year 2019-2020 Sunday school Sakinaka was selected as the best unit in Mumbai district.

Mother's Day Celebration: Mother`s Day Celebration was celebrated on 15 September after the Holy Qurbono which included few speeches on the importance of the day and a small comedy skit reflecting on the importance of the Holy Bible in our daily life.

Parish Day and Onam Celebration: Parish Day and Onam Celebration was celebrated together after the Holy Qurbono on 29 September. A tug of war was arranged between the prayer groups. It was followed by cultural activities and yearly reports were

Mathrusangam:

The District Mathrusangham conducted Srishti 2019 (Literary and nd painting competition) on 2 October at Sakinaka. The programme

was inaugurated by Mumbai District Protopres byter Fr. Mathew Pallikunnel. Mathrusangam members from ten parishes of Mumbai participated in Bible verses writing, Biblical essay and story and painting competition.

St. Mary's MSCC, Kharghar

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presented by different pious organizations. Pookalam was prepared by MCYM members.

MCYM Day Celebration: MCYM day was celebrated on 13 October in the parish. Mr. Biju John, the Male Animator of MCYM, gave a small message on the importance of the day and hoisted the MCYM Flag.

ndOnam Celebration: Onam was celebrated on 22 September. The program started with a prayer song conducted by all the Altar boys. All Sunday school children sang the onam song. It was followed by a skit and thiruvathira dance. The program concluded with Onasadhya.

thMCYM Day: Parish celebrated MCYM Day on 13 October. MCYM flag was hoisted during the occasion and a session regarding St. Francis Assisi was held.

Sunday School Picnic: Sunday School students went for a picnic to West Palm Beach Resort on 29 September. The kids were accompanied by their parents and Sunday school teachers making it a fun filled experience.

MCYM Day Celebrations: The parish celebrated MCYM day on 13 October. Altar Service and Choir was led by the youths and the Qurbono was recited in English and Malayalam. After the

St. Mary's MSCC, Sakinaka

St. Thomas MSCC, Thane

St. John the Baptist MSCC, Vasai

stEttu Nombu:The parish celebrated the ettu nombu from 1 th

September to 8 September. The celebrations included the Holy Qurbono, intercessory prayers to Mother Mary and the recitation of rosary.

Half Yearly General Body Meeting was held on 13 October 2019 presided by Rev. Fr. Mathew Thazhethottathil. The half yearly report was read by Secretary Mrs. Mercy Sunny and accounts presented by Trustee Mr. Alexkutty K.

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Qurbono the youths put up a small programme with a speech on the importance of this day, flag hoisting, pledge and a street play on Social Media Addiction. It was followed by a talk by unit resource team representative.

Home Mission: Home mission is being held in the Parish based on the theme Grace Filling Families led by Bethany sisters from Trivandrum province. Sr. Suphala SIC and 2 of the novices are leading the same.

thOnam: The parish celebrated Onam on 29 September 2019, after the Holy Qurbono. The cultural fest was organized under the leadership of MCYM. There were comedy skits acted by the MCCL & MCYM, games for the elders and the younger ones and other events which added the frolic for the day. The day ended with the onasadya prepared by the parishioners.

MCYM Contribution: The parish MCYM handed over the cheques of different amounts towards SEVA as their contribution from the benefits of the V-Ignyte 2.0, for the project “Hand to Stand” and Seminary fund.

thRemembrance and Felicitation: The parish observed the 25 feast of the commemoration of Late Archbishop Benedict Mar

thGregorios on 13 October 2019 with the Holy Qurbono. The centenary celebration of the Bethanians was also observed on the same day wherein the Bethany priests serving in the region were invited for celebrating the Holy Qurbono. Rev. Fr. Thomas Bijily OIC was the main celebrant, Rev. Fr. Geevarghese Panicker OIC and Rev. Fr. Manoj Varghese OIC concelebrated in the Qurbono along with the Vicar Rev. Fr. Mathew Pallikunnel. In a short programme organized, to felicitate the Bethanians of the region, Ms. Jinu Cheriyan hosted the event in which Miss. Melissa Leo sung a prayer song, Mr. Sibu Samuel gave the welcome address, Mr. Binu Pattiyanikal gave a visual presentation on life of Mar Gregorios and Bethany Ashram and Mr. Leo Philip gave the vote

Holy Family MSCC, Vikhroli

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of thanks. In the programme, the invited priests were felicitated for their contributions in the region. Also on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of Perpetual Vows of Sr. Lucia SIC, the parish felicitated her. After the cake cutting during the programme and felicitations, the parishioners dispersed after agape.

Youth Picnic: Parish MCYM had gone for a one day picnic to Royal Garden Resort along with parish Vicar Fr. Francis OIC, Sister Lucia and senior ex-MCYM members who had recently moved out to MCA. A total of 30 members spent the time together and had lot of fun activities at the resort.

ndOnam Celebration: Parish celebrated Onam on 22 September. The program started with the Holy Qurbono followed by Onam celebrations which included cultural programs under the guidance of youths followed by Onasadhya.

thMCYM Day: MCYM DC conducted patron's day on 6 October. The MYCM flag was hoisted by Vicar Fr. Abraham Thanuvelil, followed by reciting MCYM pledge and anthem.

Onam Celebration: Onam was celebrated with great enthusiasm th

on 7 October. After the Holy Qurbono, various programs and games led by Rev. Brothers and MCYM were presented by the MCCL, MCYM and MCA members invoking the tradition, memories and culture of Kerala. The program concluded with a delicious onasadhya.

MCYM Day Celebration: MCYM Day celebration was held on th13 October. The day commenced with MCYM flag hoisting

followed by a session on the life of St. Francis of Assisi. The session was conducted by Br. Godfrey Rodriques. It was a fun filled day and also included various games.

St. Mary's MSCC, Borivali

St. Thomas MSCC, Chinchwad

St Antony MSCC, Vishranthwadi

Pune District

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Feast of Commemoration of Archbishop Benedict Mar Gregorios was celebrated on October 13. MCA organized a short documentary about the life and contribution of Archbishop Mar Gregorios.

thMCYM Day: Parish MCYM celebrated MCYM day on 6 October. Rev Fr. Joseph OIC received the offertory which was followed by Holy Qurbono in Hindi. After the Holy Qurbono MCYM Flag Hosting ceremony was led by Parish Youth Director and President Rev. Fr. Robin Ettithadathil OIC and Mr. Jain Abraham. Later a session for the youth was conducted by Bro. Alex.

MCYM Resource Team Session: Resource Team sessions were nd thconducted by the promoters of MCYM on 22 and 29 September.

thOnam Celebrations: Onam was celebrated on 29 September. The day started with Holy Qurbono by Vicar Fr. Melwin Mathew OIC. A small cultural program was arranged wherein Sunday students and MCYM youths showcased their talents. Games for all were conducted under the leadership of Parish missionaries Br. Jaison OIC, Br. Anit and Br. Shaiju OIC. Onasadhya was arranged for all.

MCYM Day Celebration and Feast of Br. Anit: The parish level th

MCYM day was celebrated on 06 October. The day started with the Holy Qurbono followed by MCYM flag hoisting by Vicar Fr. Melwin Mathew OIC and MCYM President Joseph George. A debate on the topic “mixed marriages” was conducted for youths. All youths actively participated in it. The feast of Br. Anit Francis was also celebrated by cutting a cake.

Onam Celebration: Parish MCYM organized Onam celebration wherein the day started with the Holy Qurbono followed by games

Holy Redeemer's MSCC, Kalewadi

St. Mary's MSCC, Warje

St. Ehprem's MSCC, Goa

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and onasadya.

MCYM Youth Day: Parish celebrated MCYM day wherein the youth gave the offerings at the Holy Qurbono and following that there was a meeting where one of the youth representative addressed the gathering on the topic “social media a boon or a curse.”

Visit of MCYM General Secretary: MCYM Exarchial General Secretary Jithin Abraham visited the parish and attended the Holy

thQurbono on 8 September. There was a meeting wherein he gave some valuable messages and suggestions for the growth of parish MCYM.

thOruma 2019: Parish celebrated Onamon 15 September. There were cultural programs and traditional Onam games were played. Programs included thiruvadhira, Tug of war, musical chair and other fun filled events at the Church premises.

Malayalam Bible Reading Competition: Parish MCCL conducted a Bible reading competition for the Sunday School students. With the idea to introduce the habit of reading Malayalam right since childhood itself the teachers under the leadership of Mr. Subin Papachan, Headmaster of MCCL, gauged the competition to help the kids to read and learn Malayalam.

Resource Session: The unit level Resource session for the youth th

was conducted on 29 September. Mr. Anish Simon who was assigned as the Unit MCYM Promoter for Jeedimetla prepared the

st1 session based on the teachings shared by the Exarchate team.thPULOFA: Parish MCYM Youth Day on 13 October. The theme

for the day was selected as PULOFA In Purity, In Love, In Faith. The day was celebrated under the guidance of unit and district Director Fr. Benedict Moozhikkara OIC. The day included Holy Qurbono followed by Mime performance and Margamkali by the Youth members.

Hyderabad District

St. Joseph’s MSCC, Jeedimetla

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MGC, Chennai

Founder's Day Celebrationrd thMGC celebrated its 23 Founder's day on 5 October 2019 to pay

homage to His Grace Late Archbishop Most Rev. Benedict Mar Gregorios. The Celebration started with the Prayer song by the College Choir followed by Tamizhthaivazhthu and College anthem and the kuthuvilakku was lit by the dignitaries. Principal Dr. M. Sivarajan welcomed the Chief Guest and the special invitees of the Day. The Chief Guest was Dr. Ordetta Mendoza, Co-ordinator, Xavier Board of Higher Education in India and special invitees were Former Principals of MGC Dr. R. Amritham, Dr. P. Prakasam and Dr. K. Mohandoss, and former Vice Principals Dr. S. Srinivasan, Dr. T. Prema, Mr. T. Balachandar, Dr. V. Iyappan, Ms. S. Geetha Priya and Ms. A. Hency Juliet. He also welcomed our special guest Ms. Jerlin Natarajan, HR, Syntel. Secretary Rev. Fr. Philip Pulipra blessed the gathering and felicitated the guests with bouquet and memento as a token of love and respect.

NCC Unit in MGC

MGC entered a new mile stone with the establishment of an independent NCC unit for its own after two decades of it being allied under Loyola College, Chennai. Students at MGC were doing the NCC parade all these years with Loyola College. The declaration and approval for having an independent NCC sub unit at MGC was inaugurated on 22 October by Lt. Col. R. Chakraborthy, Commanding Officer, 13 (TN) BN in the college campus at 10.30 a. m. Special appreciation is extended to Loyola College for training MGC students for the past 20 years and allowing them to take part in parade, especially during days of importance like Republic Day, Independence day and so on.

Member of The Senate

Principal Dr. M. Sivarajanhas won in the Senate Member Election th

of the University of Madras which was held on 28 September 2019. He is now the member of the senate in the University of

Institutional News

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Madras.

Explorica 2019

The Department of Business Administration Shift II conducted the th

Inter-Collegiate Department Fest “EXPLORICA 2019” on 24 September. It started with the invocation and tamilthaivazthu followed by Kuthu Villakku by the dignitaries. Chief Guest was Dr. V. Saravanan, Director of Park Global Business School, Chennai and he gave a thought provoking and motivational speech to the students. Various On Stage-Events like Corporate Walk, Ad-zap, Quiz, Connection, Best Manager and Off-Stage Events like Paper Presentation, Decision making, Product Selling were conducted by the Students of Business Administration (Shift II) for the participants. There were 120 Students of UG & PG from various colleges like Anna Adarsh College for Women, St. Thomas College, The New College, Dr. MGR University etc. actively participated in all the events. Finally, the overall championship trophy and “The Best Manager Award” was won by Dr. M. G. R. University, Chennai.

01 : Commemoration of All Saints

03 : Qudos Eetho SundayBeginning of the Liturgical YearComm. of Bishop Paulose Mar Philexinos

10 : Hudos Eetho Sunday

13 : Feast of Bishop Yoohanon Mar Chrysostom

14 : St. Philip, the Apostle

16 : St. Mathew, the Apostle

17 : Social Communication Media Day, MCA PravasiSangamam at Khadki

21 : Entrance of Mary Mother of God into the Temple

24 : Annunciation to Mary, Mother of God, Blessing of School at Kopholi

30 : St. Andrew, the Apostle

Important Dates to Note

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MCYM NewsHesed 2k19

MCYM Global Youth Day 'Hesed 2k19' was hosted th thby the Diocese of Puttur on the 5 and 6 October,

2019. Youths were received at the Bishop's House, Puttur wherein there was an interaction with the Bishops followed by cultural evening and agape.

MCYM day was celebrated with a solemn Holy Qurbono at St. George Malankara Catholic Church, Kodimbalala followed by the MCYM flag hoisting by Bishop Geevarghese Mar Makkarios, the Bishop of Puttur and Bishop Vincent Mar Paulos. It was followed by a session led by Fr. Saleen Kallupurambil.

MCYM Global Quiz

Exarchate congratulates Alex Ninan (Thane), Joel Abraham (Ulhasnagar) and Joaquim Abraham (Vasai) for participating on behalf of the Exarchate during the MCYM International Quiz held at Kottayam on the sidelines of reunion day celebrations.

Mumbai District

Street Play on Media Addiction Awareness

MCYM Mumbai District under its various units conducted street play on media addiction in various places in Mumbai.Thane unit collaborated with Ulhasnagar and Dombivli for Street Play and performed at High Street Mall Thane and Dombivli Railway Station. Vasai Unit performed a Dance drama on the concept of Social Media Addiction at the Big Bazaar parking lot twice with an interval of an hour. MCYM Borivali performed street play at Maxus Mall, Bhayander West.

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Priests Annual Retreat and Renewal Programme will be held th ndfrom 18 November to 22 November at Montfort Sadan, Pune.

The Blessing of our school in Kharsundi Village, Khopholi thwill be held on 24 November by His Beatitude Moran Mor

Baselios Cleemis Catholicos along with Bishop Thomas Mar Anthonios OIC.

Notifications From the Chancellery

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St Joseph Mission Igatpuri

New Priest in-charge and House Blessing for Igatpuri Mission

Fr Samuel Thekkekavinal who was appointed as mission in-charge of Igatpuri Mission took charge in the month of June 2019 and started mission work along with Bro Jerry Joseph who is doing his Regency in the mission. The new mission centre was blessed by Bishop Thomas Mar Anthonios OIC on 5th July in the presence of Mr Sunny Pawath and Mr V. A. George. The mission was also dedicated to the Patronage of St Joseph.

A Day in Prayer and Fasting

Prayer meetings have been started in the villages and once a month there is a one day fasting prayer in which around 150 members participate regularly. Meal is provided towards the close of the prayer.

Relief Work

During the floods in Maharashtra most of the villages in Igatpuri were adversely affected. A small helping hand was provided by the mission by helping to get the localites with food materials and clothes.

New Mission Centre

New mission has been started in 9 more villages near Ghoti. 100 families have been identified who have shown interest in joining the Church.

Provincial's Visit and Welcome to Sisters

Rev Sr Little Flower, Provincial Superior of DM Sisters of Chanda thProvince, visited the mission on 12 October and have started a

new convent in Igatpuri Mission. The mission welcomes Rev Sr Bertha DM and Sr Jessy DM to Igatpuri.

Visit by MCA Pune District

Fr John Achuthaparambil and the MCA members of Pune District th

visited the mission on 28 September with around 20 members from different parishes. They joined the villagers for the monthly fasting prayer and visited few villages in the mission.

Mission News

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1 -2 Mon-Tue - Pune

3 Sun - Vishrantawadi, Pune

4 Mon - St Patrick Cathedral, Pune

5-7, Tue-Thu - Pune

8 Fri - First Communion, Dehu Road

9 Sat - Holy Redeemers Parish, Kalewadi, Pimpri

10 Sun - Blessing the Church, Mathikere, Bengaluru

11 Mon - Bengaluru

12 Tue - Ecumenical Priest Meet, St Mary's

Cathedral, Khadki, Pune

13 Wed - Pune

14 Thu - Enathu (Kerala)

15 Fri - Pune

16 Sat - Pastors Confirmation Course in Pune

17 Sun - Anointing with Holy Myron and

confirmation of the Pastors

MCA PravasiSanghamam, Pune

18-22 Mon-Fri - Priest Retreat of the Exarchate

23 Sat - At NVSC Pune Board Meeting

24 Sun - Silver Jubilee Celebration of Kharghar

(Mumbai) parish with - Bavathirumeni

- Blessing of our new school building

at Kharsundi with Bavathirumeni

26-29 Mon-Fri - Pune

30 Sun - Blessing of the Singasandra Church,

Bengaluru

Bishop's Diary