FRIDAY, MAY 03, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: Our Lady of Grace Church (Igreja de Graca), Margao on Saturday completed 51 gloriously and undoubtedly "Graceful" years.
It is a worship place where one can meditate on God and Life itself from the daily hustle and bustle given its location in Goa’s commercial capital.
Our Lady of Grace Church was originally a chapel called the Capela de Batalhao, chapel of the Battalion – founded by the 1st Infantry Regiment, with the foundation stone being laid on January 6, 1812, on the Feast of Epiphany. The first mass was celebrated on May 3, the same year, on the Feast of the Holy Cross.
The Chaplaincy was detached from the parish of the Holy Spirit, Margao and elevated into the full-fledged parish of Our Lady of Grace Church, from May 31, 1959. The present building was designed in modern architectural lines and was inaugurated on January 1, 1977, which has the capacity to receive over a thousand worshippers at any given time.
The church conducts mass service in Konkani in the mornings (6.30 am, 7.15 am, 8.50 am) and evenings (5.40 pm) on weekdays; while on Sundays it is at the service of nearly 4,000 parishioners with the reverend clergy celebrating Holy Mass at 6 am, 7 am and 8 am in Konkani and 9.15 am mass in English; and further to cater specifically to the younger ones in the parish The Holy Eucharistic is celebrated every Sunday at 10.25 am for more than 300 Catechism children associated with the parish during the Catechetical Year. The 5.30 pm evening Mass on Sunday draws people from all over the Salcete Taluka, with the church being left overwhelmed with the number of the attendees.
One can also witness a serpentine queue to receive the sacrament of reconciliation after the 8.50 am mass on week days. The parish has indeed evolved and has certainly been a blessing to so many under the guardianship of its first Parish Priest Fr Jose Antonio Gomes, who worked arduously to give the Capela the status of a Igrejato, the present day Sheperd, Parish Priest Fr Jose Adriano Rodrigues, a man of God who goes beyond his call of duty to serve God’s people, be it in training the children for the choir or being the good animator for any faith formation activity, only so that God be glorified.
The Parishioners shall always be indebted to all the priests currently residing in the parish and also the past priests for their unwavering support and encouragement. It is because of their zealous faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that the parish today has 26 Small Christian Communities, from the 10 sectors of the parish.
Today, the parish has a very well dedicated Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) and the various associations and movements such as The Legion of Mary, Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, The World Apostolate of Fatima to name a few, which has the dynamic presence of the young and the experienced from the parish as their members, whose sole motive is service.
The religious orders in the parish are The Religious Men of The Society of Jesus (SJ), based at Loyola School Campus, Comba- Margao; The Order of Discalced Carmelites (OCD), based at The Carmelite Monastery, Aquem, Margao and Apostolic Carmel Sisters (AC) , based at Fatima Convent, Margao.
Certainly, the parish has come a long way and now in these times of coronavirus one can, but only pray and seek the blessings of Mother Mary -- Our Lady of Grace to bless every individual in this world with a crown of Grace, to face these troubled times!
