Deacon Ashwin Aranha of Our Lady of Lourdes Church Kanajar was ordained as priest by Most Rev. Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo on 24th April, 2018.
The deacon was ordained during the Eucharistic Mass offered by the Bishop. The ordination ceremony was held in the presence of the near and dear ones of the newly-ordained priest along with the presence of hundreds of devotees. More than 50 priests were present on the occasion.
The bishop in his homily pointed out the status and responsibilities of a priest in the church. He said that a priest is the one chosen by God from among the people to serve them and lead them to Christ. He also highlighted the significance and challenges of the priestly ministry in the present world.
Later, the newly ordained priest concelebrated the Holy Eucharist with the bishop. Fr Stephen D’Souza, Diocesan Biblical and Catechetical Centre animated the Liturgy.
Solemn church rituals were followed by a grand felicitation function. Students from Lourdes Central School Kanajar performed the welcome dance.
Most Rev. Dr Gerald Lobo, Bishop of Udupi; Rev. Fr Ashwin Aranha, Vincent and Precilla Aranha, Parents of Rev. Fr Ashwin Aranha; Rev. Fr Joseph Martis, Rector of St Joseph’s Seminary; Rev. Fr Alexander Lewis, Parish Priest of Kanajar; V. Rev. Fr Joswey Fernandes, Dean of Karkal Deanery and others were present on the dais.
The Bishop addressed the gathering and congratulated Fr Ashwin on behalf of the diocese, He felicitated the new priest and his Parents and greeted the new priest and thanked his parents for being generous to give their son to the diocese to serve as priest. He made an appeal to the people to promote vocations in their families.
Rev. Fr Joseph Martis and Rev. Fr Alexander Lewis also congratulated the new priest.
In his Thanksgiving speech, Fr Ashwin recalled the role of his parents in supporting him in his vocation. He recalled the help and support rendered to him right from his childhood till the day of his ordination and thanked his family members, relatives, teachers in school and professors in the college, teachers in seminary, friends, well-wishers and all those who had helped in organizing the ordination ceremony in the church and making the felicitation function a grand success.
Br Jithesh compered the program.