It was indeed a momentous day for the clergy and the parishioners of St Sebastian Church, Bendur as they witnessed the blessing and inauguration of the newly constructed “St. Sebastian Centenary Auditorium”, on Monday, 1st of May, 2023. It was a completion of the long-awaited dream of the parishioners for a spacious air-conditioned hall with modern amenities.
Prior to the inauguration, thanksgiving Mass was celebrated by Most Rev. Dr. Peter Paul Saldanha, bishop of Mangalore Diocese, as the main celebrant along with the parish priests and guest priests.
Soon after the mass Most Rev. Dr. Peter Paul Saldanha, inaugurated the St. Sebastian Centenary Auditorium by cutting the ribbon and Very Rev. Fr. Antony Shera, the former parish priest unveiled the plaque. Very Rev. Msgr. Leslie Shenoy inaugurated the lights and electrical installations. The bishop led the ceremony of blessing through a prayer service and later blessed the Auditorium by sprinkling holy water. This was followed by a short stage programme that was presided over by the Most Rev. Dr. Peter Paul Saldanha. This auspicious occasion was graced by V. Rev. Msgr. Leslie Shenoy as the chief guest and V. Rev. Fr Antony Shera as the guest of honour. The programme began with a welcome dance by the parish youth, followed by words of welcome by the Vice President, Parish Pastoral Parishad, Mr. Vinod Dsouza. Parish priest V. Rev. Fr. Vincent Monteiro gave a glimpse of the journey of success of the project since its inception till the date of completion. The members of the first executive committee V. Rev. Fr. Antony Shera the then Parish Priest, Mr Vincent Goveas the then Vice President, Mr Stephen pinto, Mr Audi Rego and Mr Prakash Pinto who pioneered the project were felicitated.
This was followed by felicitation of the architect, contractors, construction workers, and donors by the chief guest V. Rev. Msgr. Leslie Shenoy and V. Rev. Fr. Antony Shera. Mr Stephen Pinto, Ex- Vice president and Mr Ravi Fernandes, Manager were specially honoured for their valuable contribution towards the project. Honouring program was led by Mr Clarence Machado. Most Rev. Dr. Peter Paul Saldanha appreciated the courage, and hard work of the parish priest in fulfilling this dream project and thanked all the donors. Chief guest V. Rev Msgr. Leslie Shenoy acknowledged the initiative taken by the then Parish priest in 2015, V. Rev. Fr Antony Shera and the leadership of V. Rev. Fr. Vincent Monteiro the present parish priest in completing this project.
The chief guest and the guest of honour were felicitated by the Parish Priest. The Parish priest V. Rev. Fr Vincent Monteiro was honoured by the Vice President and Secretary of PPP, the dignitaries and the parish clergy with a shawl, flowers and fruits. The honouring ceremony was led by Rev. Fr. Ronson Asst. parish priest, Bendur.
The vote of thanks was proposed by Mrs. Patsy Britto, secretary, Parish Pastoral Parishad and the programme was compered by Mrs. Anita Frank, convener, Bendur Media Committee. The blessing ceremony was made more meaningful with the melodious choir by Mr. Oswald D’Souza.
The St. Sebastian Centenary Auditorium is fully air-conditioned and can accommodate up to 1000 people. With a spacious area for parking and other facilities, the hall has attracted the attention of the public. The hall is available for booking at an affordable cost. The 5 percentiles of the income from this Auditorium will be set aside for the education of the economically backward students as decided by the committee.
