SHILLONG: The Archbishop of Shillong Archdiocese Fr Dominic Jala inaugurated the yearlong celebration to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Mawlai Parish on Sunday.
Fr Jala inaugurated the yearlong celebration with hoisting of the jubilee flag in the presence of Health and Family Welfare AL Hek.
The Holy Mass which followed the inaugural function was attended by many priests who included the Parish Priest of Mawlai Rev. Fr. Roland Kharkrang SDB, Fr. Jose Varickaserril SDB, Asst. Parish Priest, other religious priests and sisters. Thousands of faithful of the Parish gathered for this important occasion in the history of the Parish.
The Parish Priest in his welcome speech said that the opening of the Platinum Jubilee is an important occasion for the Parish. It is an occasion to thank God for the blessings he has showered on the Parish.
He remembered fondly the priests who had served the Parish and have gone to their eternal reward. The Archbishop too in his sermon expressed gratitude to the Almighty for working wonders in the Parish and in the life of the parishioners.
The Archbishop in his sermon too reminded the faithful to pray for peace in the society. He reminded how in the eighties, Mawlai had similar experience of bloodshed and instability as a consequence of societal conflict.
“Conflict in the society has an adverse effect in the lives of the poor and the common people, hence we need to pray for peace in our society,” the Archbishop said.
He also asked the people to pray for the soul of businessman Vikash Nandwal who succumbed to the burn injury in Delhi.
This day too, the faithful of Mawlai Parish kept the Marian )Procession of the Parish to honour the Mother of God.
The Marian procession which began at 1:30 pm was well attended by the faithful of the parish. Despite the shower, the faithful braved the rain to attend the procession and show admiration to the Mother of Jesus.
It may be mentioned that at the beginning, Mawlai Parish comprises of the entire Ri-Bhoi districts of Meghalaya and in its 75 years history a number of parishes have been bifurcated from the mother parish. In the month of November, a new parish Umbir will be bifurcated from the Parish.