MUMBAI: Keeping the chin up despite the vandalisation of its graveyard a few days ago, St Michael’s Church, Mahim, is celebrating 75 years of its popular Wednesday Novena this weekend.
The church is staging a grand 100-member production of ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ from January 27-29.
Fr Ashwin Castellino, assistant parish priest and event coordinator, said, “The Novena prayer dedicated to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour (Mother Mary) was started on her birthday September 8, 1948, by Fr Edward Fernandes who was parish priest at the time. Novena is different from regular mass. It is a devotion to a saint or the Blessed Mother, seeking their intercession to grant the wishes of the faithful.”
Fr Ashwin said the popularity of the Novena spread far and wide as many people’s prayers, or petitions as they are called, were answered.
The marathon Novena is held in five languages English, Hindi, Marathi, Konkani and Tamil from 6.00am through 9.30pm. Fr Ashwin said, “Before the lockdown, around 60,000 people, not just Catholics but Hindus, Muslims and Parsis also would participate each Wednesday. They arrive to seek various blessings like health, children, housing or domestic peace. Some offer floral garlands or wax models of the item that they wish for. These are sold outside the church.”
Two shows of ‘Hunchback..’ were held over Friday and Saturday. Six hundred chairs that were placed in the church quadrangle filled quickly, and the authorities installed an LED screen in the auditorium to accommodate the rest of the spectators.
Sixteen-year-old Christian Fernandes of Bombay Scottish School, who enacted the title role of Quasimodo, said, “We have been rehearsing since October with the cast and then the choir. Since this is a musical, coordination is not an easy task.” Christian endured a fair bit of back pain too, wearing a turtle shell shaped from thermocol on his bent back for over two hours every evening.
Attendance to the play is free, and spectators can contribute what they like when the hat is passed around at the end. The proceeds will be used to refurbish a home for the aged in Andheri East, incidentally also named after Our Lady of Perpetual Succour.
Source: https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMihAFodHRwczovL20udGltZXNvZmluZGlhLmNvbS9jaXR5L211bWJhaS9tdW1iYWlzLW1haGltLWNodXJjaC1jZWxlYnJhdGVzLXBsYXRpbnVtLWp1YmlsZWUtb2Ytd2VkbmVzZGF5LW5vdmVuYS9hcnRpY2xlc2hvdy85NzQwNDk2Mi5jbXPSAYgBaHR0cHM6Ly9tLnRpbWVzb2ZpbmRpYS5jb20vY2l0eS9tdW1iYWkvbXVtYmFpcy1tYWhpbS1jaHVyY2gtY2VsZWJyYXRlcy1wbGF0aW51bS1qdWJpbGVlLW9mLXdlZG5lc2RheS1ub3ZlbmEvYW1wX2FydGljbGVzaG93Lzk3NDA0OTYyLmNtcw?oc=5
