Udupi: Bishop of Udupi diocese Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo said that the proclamation of St. Lawrence Shrine at Attur, Karkala as minor Basilica and its dedication will be take place on August 1, 2016.
Speaking in a press meet at the Bishop’s House Hall, Udupi, Lobo said that the thanksgiving Eucharistic celebrations will be at Shrine grounds and the main celebrant of the Eucharistic mass will be His Eminence Oswald Cardinal Gracias, Archbishop of Mumbai diocese and President of CCBI and FABC. His Eminence Baselios Cardinal Cleemis, Major Archbishop – Catholicos of the Syro Malankara Catholic Church, Trivandrum and President of CBCI will make the Proclamation of the Decree in Latin, while the Proclamation of the Decree in Konkani as well as in Kannada will be done by Most Rev. Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo, Bishop of Udupi.
“We had been preparing for the event from the past two years. Now that we fulfilled all the requirements as requested by the Roman Pontiff, the permission for declaring the Attur shrine as a minor Basilica has been granted,” said Lobo.
St Lawrence Church at Attur-Karkala, in the diocese of Udupi, is a shrine of blessings and favours to all devotees, irrespective of caste and creed. His Holiness Pope Francis has elevated the shrine into a ‘Minor Basilica’ through a decree on April 26, 2016. This is the highest status given to a catholic church. The shrine which is more than 300 years old is only the 2nd Basilica in Karnataka and the 22nd in India.
The events on August 1
The proclamation and dedication of the Shrine as a Minor Basilica will take place on the 1 August, 2016 at 10 a.m. This historic event will declare the Shrine as a sanctuary of blessings, favours, reconciliation, peace, and communal harmony. Four Cardinals of India, many Archbishops, Bishops, Priests and people from the dioceses of Udupi, Mangaluru and neighboring dioceses will participate in the mega event. The Holy Eucharist begins at 10.00 am. The Public Function which is scheduled to begin at 11.45, will be attended by Pramod Madhvaraj, Minister for Fisheries, Sports & Youth Empowerment & Udupi district in-charge, Ramanatha Rai, Minister for Forests, Environment and Ecology, Sunil Kumar, MLA-Karkala, Shobha Karandlaje, MP, Oscar Fernandes, MP, Vinaya Kumar Sorake, MLA-Kaup, J R Lobo, MLA-Mangaluru South, Ivan D’Souza, MLC and Gopal Bhandary, ex-MLA.
The function will be followed by lunch. Around 10-12 thousand people are expected to participate in the program.
Monsgr Baptist Menezes, Vicar General, Rev Fr. George D’Souza Rector of Attur Shrine, Rev Fr. Lawrence D’Souza, Convener, Committee for Dedication of the Shrine and Michael Rodrigues Coordinator of Mediamen. Rev Fr. Denis D’Sa PRO of diocese were present at the press meet.
