Mangaluru: The Annual feast of Infant Jesus 2023 at the holy shrine of Bikarnakatte in the city culminated with a feast mass solemnized at the Infant Jesus Shrine by Rev. Fr Maxim Noronha, Vicar General, Diocese of Mangalore on Sunday, Jan 15.

In his homily, the vicar encouraged the faithful to follow not the ‘world’s way,’ but ‘Christ’s way’. “This world today needs the divine touch of Christ who won sin and death; he can give the world true peace and freedom. As the psalms tell us, the lord watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes, Christ saves his disciples from despair and sadness. The disciples who left Jerusalem felt the divine intervention and they returned with joy. So also Christ today tirelessly accompanies us and leads us to the green pastures,” he said.

Rev. Fr Pius James D Souza, OCD, Definitor General, presided over the 10:30 Annual Feast Mass which was specially dedicated to children. Similarly, there were other masses in Konkani, Kannada and Malayalam (Syro-Malabar rite) whole day. Along with religious priests and nuns, thousands of devotees participated in the feast. A huge number of devotees also visited the shrine on two days of the feast. The feast started with nine-day Novena prayers, which were held from Jan 5 to 13, during which there were masses offered every day in different languages.