Mangalore: ‘Bible: Day and night’ begins in Cordel

DHNS

Mangalore, 16 March 2010: With the commencement of holy mass at 6 pm on Monday, led by Mangalore Diocesan Bishop Rev Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza, the historic event of reading Bible (New Testament) non-stop for about 25 hours has begun.

Addressing the audience at a brief programme prior to the commencement of the mass, the Bishop called upon the participants “to try to meet Jesus” during the extraordinary spiritual exercise.

Explaining the significance and uniqueness of Bible, the Bishop said every year, about 500 million copies of Bible are printed in about 600 languages, which is also ‘the best seller,’ ‘most popular’ and ‘widely read book’ in the world.

The chief guest on the occasion, Bethany Superior General Rev Sr M Wilberta cited a couple of quotes from the Bible and said that Bible is not linked to any particular religion. She also lauded the efforts of Cordel parish in organising such an historic event, especially in the lenten season.

Earlier, Cordel Parish Priest Rev Fr Valerian Pinto opined that Monday the 15th of March 2010 will be remembered as a ‘golden day’ in the history of India as nobody has attempted such an event earlier in India (Pope Benedict IX along with a large number of priests read the entire Bible last year in Rome). Assistant Parish Priests Arun Lobo and Rajesh Rosario compered the programme and proposed a vote of thanks respectively.

260 readers, 25 hours

As soon as the Bishop arrived at the church, he went straight to the alter, offered a short prayer and brought the Holy Bible in a procession to the “Garden of Gethsemane,” the venue where the Bible is being read by about 260 persons (including 60 priests and nuns who have served and belong to Cordel parish).

Soon after the mass, the Bishop read the first chapter of the New Testament in the Bible. As per the plan, the last chapter would be read around 5 pm on Tuesday which will be followed by mass to be led by Archbishop Rev Dr Bernard Moras.