Mangaluru: In an initiative to strengthen the unity of Christians and Hindus, the head priests of the Infant Jesus Shrine in Bikarnakatte visited the Ganesh festival celebrations at Sanghanikethan on Tuesday, September 6.
Welcomed with bhajans sung by the ladies here, the priests accompanied by sisters from Sacred Heart Convent made cloth and floral offerings to the Ganapathi idol.
“It is a casual visit to fill the gap in our inter-religious brotherhood. We are very happy that the invitation was accepted by the Catholic priests and they made their presence felt. This is the 69th year that Sanghanikethan is conducting Ganesh festival and the first time that the Christian fraternity visited us,” said Ganesh Prasad, the head of Mangaluru Mahanagara Prachara.
Rev. Fr. Prakash D’Cunha, the Associate Director of Infant Jesus Shrine said that there should be unity among different religions for the growth of the nation. “Peace and co-existence shall grow only when the differences are kept aside and we acknowledge our brotherhood”, Fr. Prakash added.
Sr. Gladys, Sr. Denisia, Sr. Nympa and Sr. Gladys from Sacred Heart Convent in Kulshekar were present along with Rev. Fr. Elias D’Souza of Infant Jesus Shrine. Sanghanikethan management authorities and Keshava Smrithi Samahothsava Samithi were also present.
It may be recalled that recently the RSS members had celebrated Rakshabandhan in Infant Jesus Shrine Bikarnakatte.