Author: admin

Mumbai-born British Soprano,
Patricia Rozario
to be feted by the Prince of Wales.

Goa’s most famous classical music export will soon add yet another feather to her cap. Patricia Rozario, the critically-acclaimed, London-based opera star who originally hails from Assagao, was recently confirmed to the prestigious fellowship of the Royal College of Music (RCM), thereby becoming the first Goan and only the second Indian (after Zubin Mehta in 1989) to feature on the list.

A letter Rozario received from Colin Lawson, director of the institution, states: “It gives me great pleasure to inform you that on the recommendation of the Council of the Royal College of Music, our president, Charles, The Prince of Wales, has graciously approved the nomination for you to become a fellow of the Royal College of Music.”

The formal presentation of the fellowship will take place next spring, when Rozario receives the award from Prince Charles in a traditional ceremony in London. On that day, she will sign a document that puts her on par with the fellowship’s other past awardees, some of whom are now recognized as stalwarts in their field. Apart from Mehta, one of the modern era’s finest conductors, the RCM’s elite list also contains its fair share of legends from around the world.

American violin virtuoso Yehudi Menuhin, who gained popularity in India in the late-20th century after his association with Ravi Shankar, is among RCM’s more prominent fellows. Others Rozario will share space with include composers Benjamin Britten and Richard Strauss, musical theatre king Andrew Lloyd Webber, cellist Edward Elgar, pianist Arthur Rubinstein, conductor Arturo Toscanini, and tenor Placido Domingo.

“It (the fellowship) is a great honour, and I will be able to put the letters FRCM after my name, after the ceremony next spring,” a jubilant Rozario, who is presently in Mumbai, told TOI. Royal honours, however, are not new to the soprano. She had previously been awarded the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth-II in 2001.

Meanwhile, Rozario, whose ‘Giving voice to India’ project attempts to identify and train young opera talent in the country, will hold a five-day workshop in Goa later this month. One of its beneficiaries, Oscar Castellino, is another Goan who had a tryst with royalty—in June, he, along with the RCM choir and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, serenaded Queen Elizabeth-II on a barge on the Thames, as she celebrated 60 years as the Monarch of England.

NB: Patricia Rozario is our member Glenn Mathias’s first cousin. Patricia is also first cousin to Mark and Roberta DeSouza and niece to Aunty Merlyn DeSouza.

Unique relic of St. Francis Xavier will leave Rome and head to Australia
4th July 2012, 16:55:27, Rome

Francis Xavier is one of Australia’s patron saints. In just a few months,
one of his treasured relics will make its way all the way from a Church
in Rome to Australia.

Msgr. Peter Comensoli
Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Sydney
“It’s very rare for the the relic of the arm of St. Francis Xavier to ever
leave the Gesu, here in Rome, but we thought it would be good as part
of a special year of Grace that Australia is having, that we might have
the arm of St. Francis Xavier make a pilgrimage around the country.”

St. Francis Xavier co-founded the Society of Jesus. As part of this project,
Jesuits here in Rome agreed to lend his arm to Australia. Sydney’s Auxiliary
bishop says once in the country, the relic will stay in each diocese for about
two to three days. It’s all ties in to Australia’s so called “Year of Grace” that
will end at Pentecost in 2013.

Msgr. Peter Comensoli
Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Sydney
“His right arm was this arm that baptized and blessed so many thousands
of people in our part of the world, not in the European part of the world but
in the Southern part of the world where Australia is”

The relic is scheduled to arrive in Australia on 16th September.
Several pilgrimages are planned in the following months within Australia.
On 3rd December, it will make its way back to Sydney where his feast
day will be celebrated. On the 4th of December, the relic will make its
way back to Rome.

By Fr Mervin Noronha SVD
Pics by George and Anaida
Bellevision Media Network

Nairobi, Kenya, 21 Jun 2012: June 17, 2012 will go down as a memorable day in the history of the small but vibrant Konkani Catholic community living in Nairobi.

The joyful tears and great piety on the faces of everyone gathered around the grotto was its testimony as the magnificent statue of Mother Mary, made at Simon & Co Mangalore, was unveiled at the shrine of Our Lady of Consolata, Nairobi. The 3000-plus congregation that gathered round the grotto burst into singing, dancing and ululation as the 9-foot-tall statue stood before their eyes with amazing grandeur.

When the Mangalorean and Karwar Catholic community floated the idea to donate a statue of our Lady Consolata to the newly proposed prayer garden and grotto, various options were discussed in sourcing the statue, prominent being Italy, Kenya and India.

But when the costs were compared, India became the obvious choice. Moreover, the members felt that it would help them to relate to the Mother more closely and inspire the future generations if the statue came from their motherland.

Basil Serrao, a Mangalorean entrepreneur and vice chairman of the Consolata parish council, followed up with the idea of getting the statue from Mangalore. It was available at half the cost of the Italian quotation and without compromising on quality. Meanwhile the Konkani Catholics took the lead to raise the entire sum and get the statue to Nairobi.

A dream come true, the statue is now standing tall, radiating beauty, grandeur and protection to all who visit the place and it is a great tribute to the tremendous love and devotion the Mangaloreans have for their heavenly Mother.

Mother Mary has already shown her miraculous power along her long and tedious journey from Mangalore to Nairobi. The first was the immediate clearance of the huge consignment by the customs authorities in Bangalore without any hassle.

In the context of increasing cases of smuggling out antiques of value in the name of religious articles, the Indian government of late is very strict on export shipments. But Mother’s statue was cleared without much scrutiny. Secondly, the company that did the packaging and forwarding condoned the entire cost of the job. Thirdly the customs in Nairobi let the statue in without any hitch and at a good discount.

Mangalorean women faithful who stood at the feet of the statue could not take their gaze away from her face and one could see even tears of joy welling up in many eyes. It was a vivid testimony of the deep love the faithful have for the Mother and a sense of deep satisfaction at the initiative they took as a community to give expression to their faith in concrete action.

As Michael, one of the members said, ‘The Mother is very dear to all of us and the hymns we sing in her honour nourish our faith.’ Spreading the devotion to Mary, the divine mother, is one way of making the community’s presence felt among the local people. And June 17 has done just that.