Mangaluru : The Annual Feast of Infant Jesus at Infant Jesus Shrine, Carmel Hill, Bikarnakatte – Mangaluru will be celebrated on Jan 14-15, 2019 said , Fr. PrakashD’Cunha, OCD, Director, Infant Jesus Shrine.

The Festal Mass on Jan 14 will be presided over by Very Rev. Dr. Aloysius Paul D’Souza, Bishop Emeritus of Mangalore Diocese at 6.00 pm. along with Rev. Fr. Charles Serro, Carmelite Provincial Superior and more than 100 Priests. Around 500 Religious Nuns and 15,000 devotees are going to participate in the Holy Eucharist celebrated open air.

There will be Masses all through the day too. Mass in Konkani will be celebrated at 6.00 am, 9.00 am and 11.45 am. English Mass will be at 7.00 am, Malayalam Mass at 8.00 and Kannada Mass at 12.45 followed by a Prayer Service. Mass for the sick and the aged will be celebrated at 10.15 am in Konkani.

The Festal Mass on the Second day (Jan 15) will be solemnized by Very Rev. Dr. Peter Paul Saldanha, Bishop of Mangaluru along with other priests at 10.30 am. It will be a special Mass for children. There are other Masses on the same day: 6.30 am, 7.30 am, 9.00 am in Konkani. At 12 in the Noon Kannada Mass and in the evening a special prayer service for Inner Healing at 5.00 pm followed by Eucharistic celebration and procession of the Blessed Sacrament.

The formal inauguration of the festivity will be held on Jan 4, 2019 with the votive offering procession beginning at JayashreeGate. The flag hoisting will be attended by Rev. Fr. Msgr. Maxim Noronha, Vicar General of Mangalore Diocese, VedavyasKamat, MLA, Mangalore South Constituency, BaskarMoily, Mayor, Mangalore City Corporation, Ivan D’Souza, MLC and SabithaMisquith, Corperator.

In preparation to the Annual Feast, nine days Novena Prayers are held from Jan 5 to Jan 13 during which we have 9 Masses every day. Masses are as follows: In morning at 6.00, 7.30, 9.00 and 10.30 in Konkani; At noon 1 pm in Konkani; In the Evening at 4.00 in Malayalam, 5.00 in English and 7.00 in Kannada. The main Mass at 6.00 pm will be celebrated in Konkani in the open air.

Blood Donation Camp is being organized at the Shrine Campus on Jan 10, Thursday from 9 am to 1 pm. Rev. Fr. Richard Couelho, Director , Fr. Mullers Medical College will inaugurate the Camp.

Free meal will be served to the devotee on all the nine days of Novena.

A special prayer service in Kannada – BalaYesuNamana will be held at 8.15 pm on every day of the Novena, he said.

Fr. PrakashD’Cunha, OCD, Director, Infant Jesus Shrine, Fr. Wilfred Rodrigues, OCD Superior, St. Joseph’s Monastery, Mr. Elias Fernandes Director, Found Winds Communications were present in press conference.