Lakhs Of Devotees Attend Annual Feast Of Gunadala Lourdes Matha
The Bishop, who was the chief guest on the concluding day of the three-day celebrations, clarified that his remarks on inequality reflected his personal conviction.
VIJAYAWADA: The 102nd annual festivities of Mary Matha Thirunallu of the historic Gunadala Lourdes Matha shrine concluded on a solemn note here on Wednesday, with lakhs of devotees thronging the hill shrine to offer prayers and seek blessings.
Delivering the concluding message, Telagathoti Joseph Raja Rao, Bishop of the Vijayawada Catholic Diocese, said that in a diverse nation like India, the path shown by Jesus Christ “is one way to eradicate inequalities and restore social harmony.”
The Bishop, who was the chief guest on the concluding day of the three-day celebrations, clarified that his remarks on inequality reflected his personal conviction. “Despite India emerging as the world’s fifth-largest economy, true progress remains elusive due to the persistent social inequalities,” he said.
He underlined the need for compassionate leaders like Mother Teresa and Joseph Thambi in every state to uplift society.
The bishop recalled the apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes to 14-year-old Bernadette in Lourdes, France, in 1858 — where the Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared 18 times. Mary, he said, was later declared the Immaculate Mother by the Roman Catholic Church.
The high priest called upon the faithful to live in brotherly love and humility, following Mother Mary’s example of obedience to God’s message.
The concluding Holy Mass was solemnly concelebrated by Bishop Raja Rao along with Shamindra Jayawardena (USA), Monsignor Muvvala Prasad, Vicar General Fr M Gabriel, Shrine Rector Fr Yeleti William Jayaraju, Fr Telagathoti Paul (Germany), Social Service Centre Director Fr Thota Sunil Raju and nearly 500 priests.
Devotional hymns rendered by Fr Pasala Thomas and the Madhira Bernard choir elevated the gathering to a high spiritual level.
Among the dignitaries present were Vijayawada MP Kesineni Sivanath (Chinni), MLA Gadde Ramamohan, YSRC NTR district president Devineni Avinash and Ongole mayor G. Sujatha. They offered prayers at the shrine and received blessings from the bishop.
Kesineni Sivanath announced that he, along with MLA Gadde Ramamohan, would strive for comprehensive development of the Gunadala shrine. Efforts would be made to develop Gunadala on par with the renowned Velankanni shrine in Tamil Nadu, he said.
