On August 15, the parish of St Anthony in Siolim celebrated with great gaiety the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the 75th anniversary of the Independence of India. The traditional ritual of the blessing of new sheaves of corn and offering them to God was performed. The Eucharistic celebration was organised by the Parish Youth of Siolim who chanted the melody set to Indian music with cymbals, ghumott and other instruments.
Fr Francisco Barreto, the Assistant Priest, with the help of the youngsters designed the country’s map with tri-colours, keeping the statue of Blessed Virgin Mary at its foot and placing tri-colour flower pots around it.
It was followed by the flag hoisting ceremony, where representatives of the parish community unfurled different flags. The national flag was unfurled by Saby Mascarenhas, who was instrumental in helping the restoration work of the Church; that of the Holy See was unfurled by Rosalia Barretto representing the Catechists; Anthony Fernandes, the oldest Confraria member, unfurled the flag with the Coat of Arms of the Parish; and Filomena Pereira, the President of ‘Women of Faith Association’ unfurled the flag of Nossa Senhora de Guia. A large number of faithful participated in the event. Dr Fr Socorro Mendes, the Parish Priest, addressed the gathering and spoke about the powers-that-be “who were out to destroy the fabric of our nation” and called on the parishioners as citizens to be aware and to voice out their protests in order to preserve the integrity of the nation.
