Mangaluru: St John the Baptist Church at Permude will celebrate its diamond jubilee with the blessing and inauguration of its renovated church building on Oct 15. The celebrations will commence at 3pm, parish priest Rev Fr Ronald Pinto announced at a press meet on Thursday.The Permude parish was established on Oct 15, 1965, marking six decades of spiritual and community service. According to Fr Pinto, the original church structure was built around 65 years ago with the support of the family of Juliana Nazareth. The church has now been comprehensively renovated to cater to the changing pastoral and community needs of the parish.The renovated church will be inaugurated by the Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Mangalore, Most Rev Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza. The blessing ceremony and Solemn Eucharistic Celebration will be led by Bishop of Mangalore Diocese Most Rev Dr Peter Paul Saldanha, while Bishop of Mysore Diocese Most Rev Dr Francis Serrao will deliver the homily.A formal stage programme will be held at 6pm following the religious ceremonies, with Bishop Peter Paul Saldanha presiding over the programme. The celebrations will also highlight interfaith harmony, with representatives from different communities expected to participate. As part of the jubilee celebrations, a grand Horekanike procession and the blessing of the renovated priests’ residence will be held on Sunday. The parish has also planned a fellowship meal and cultural performance as part of the celebrations on the jubilee day.
