Parish News

A DISTINGUISHED VISITOR

It was indeed a wonderful and memorable event, a God-given gift to our parish in this Post Centennial Golden Jubilee Year. When the representative of the Pope, Most Rev. Salvatore Pennacchio, the Apostolic Nuncio to India, paid a surprised visit to the shrine of Our Lady of Pompei in our Parish.

The Nuncio had heard about this Shrine before and when he came to inaugurate the Shrine dedicated to St. John Paul II at Bajpe, he casually expressed his desire to our Bishop to visit this shrine at Urwa. His wish was fulfilled on 28th November 2015, to the great joy and delight of the Urwa parishioners. Quite a few of them were present on the occasion even though came to know about the proposed visit very late!

 
The Nuncio was as much delighted with the visit as we ourselves were. Speaking casually on the occasion to the gathering, he said that he came from a place close to Pompei in Italy. He also told us that after he received his call to be priest. He regularly visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompei and prayed to our Lady to protect him and to guide his steps towards the altar.

He was genuinely interested and wanted to know more about how we conduct the Novena to Our Lady of Pompei and about the annual celebration of her feast. He requested our parish priest, Fr. Victor D’ Mello to give him more information about it in writing which, he said, he would get published in the Chronicle published from the Shrine of Pompei in Italy. A detailed article about this was indeed sent to him with relevant photographs, and true to his word he got it published in the Pompei Chronicle, Pompei, Italy.

This is certainly a recognition for our Shrine and a matter of pride for our parish as we celebrate the post centennial golden jubilee of our parish. I am sure that the Papal Nuncio himself taking such keen and personal interest in the proceedings and the activities at our Shrine, our Shrine will be blessed all the more and devotion to Our Lady of Pompei will deepen in our hearts and her fame will spread even farther and her motherly blessings and her protection will be with us always.