Most Rev Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza the Emeritus Bishop of the Diocese of Mangalore celebrated the Festive Holy Mass at 6 p.m. at Milagres Church grounds on 15th February on the occasion of Feast of Relic of Saint Anthony.

Fr Cyril Lobo the resident priest at St Lawrence Church Bondel preached the homily on the theme ‘seek ye the kingdom of God first’. In his homily he said that those who live by the material wealth of this world live till the material world lasts. But those who put their trust in God and believe in Him live to eternity. Saint Anthony is one such person who lived according to the will of God and went about preaching the word of God and healing people in the name of Jesus. God in turn has preserved his tongue during the past nine centuries without being decayed. This is a great miracle God has done to Saint Anthony for the wonderful work he has done during his earthly life. Saint Anthony is a model and challenge to all of us to live a life that pleases God and serves the humanity.

Earlier during the day Fr Maxim D’Souza the professor at St Joseph Seminary Jeppu offered Holy Mass for the elderly at Milagres Church at 8 a.m. Msgr Maxim Noronha the Vicar General of the Diocese of Mangalore offered Mass for the inmates and invitees at 11 a.m. at Jeppu Ashram and at 4.30 p.m. Fr Joy Puthenveettil from the Diocese of Allepy Kerala offer Mass in Malyalam at Milagres Church.

Thousands of devotees participated in the festive celebration. Fr Onil D’Souza the director of St Anthony’s Ashram Jeppu thanked all those who toiled and donated to make the celebration successful.