Guwahati, 8 February 2024: In a solemn ceremony held in the Community of Guwahati, Brother Ningrei G Berno and Amit Toppo took a significant step in their spiritual journey as they were ordained as deacons on 8 February 2024. The auspicious event, presided over by His Lordship Bishop John Thomas, Bishop Emeritus of Itanagar, unfolded in the presence of many Fathers, brothers and sisters from the neighbouring communities and the Pauline Family.
The Eucharistic celebration, which commenced at 6 PM, was a poignant moment as Brother Ningrei G Berno and Amit Toppo answered the divine call to serve. The sacred rites of ordination were administered by Bishop Thomas, infusing the atmosphere with a sense of reverence and solemnity.
As Brother Ningrei G Berno and Amit Toppo embarked on their new roles as deacons, there was a profound sense of anticipation and hope for the journey ahead. Their ordination to the diaconate indicates their unwavering dedication to the teachings of Christ and their commitment to serving their communities with compassion and humility.
The ceremony concluded with prayers of gratitude and blessings, as the newly ordained deacons were entrusted with the sacred responsibility of carrying forth the light of faith and love in their respective ministries. With the support of their faith communities and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Brother Ningrei G Berno and Amit Toppo stand poised to embrace the challenges and joys that await them on their path of service to God and humanity.
Deacon Damiyan Borgoary was ordained as a Priest on 4 February, 2024, at Bl. Michael Rua Catholic Church, Bengtol, Assam, by His Excellency Rt. Rev. Thomas Pulloppillil D.D., Bishop of Bongaigaon. He is the First Pauline Priest from Assam, the Second Priest from his home parish. The bishop, representing the apostolic succession, imparted blessings upon him, invoking the Spirit of God to descend like a gentle dove and empowered him to become another Christ. More than six thousand faithful prayerfully participated in and witnessed the ordination ceremony. With an atmosphere of joy and reverence the faithful experienced the sacred mystery unfolding before them. The congregation, with hearts uplifted and souls ablaze with renewed faith, rejoiced, witnessing the birth of a new priest of God in the vineyard of Bongaigaon.
There was a colourful felicitation programme for the newly ordained priest Fr Damiyan Borgoary and for the dignitaries. His Grace Thomas Pulloppillil D.D, in his felicitation address invited St Pauls effectively use the Digital Media, ChatGpt & Artificial Intelligence to educate and evangelise the North East. Fr Joby Mathew, the Provincial Superior, congratulated the newly ordained priest and said that years ago the diocese of Bongaigaon gifted a young Damiyan Borgoary to St Pauls and now we return him to the diocese as a Pauline Priest.
Fr Damiyan Borgoary, on 5 February 2024 celebrated his First Thanksgiving Eucharist in his native village North Digholdong. The newly ordained was solemnly welcomed through various traditional North Eastern dances. Several diocesan priests, religious sisters, Pauline priests and sisters from different parts of India participated in the first holy Eucharistic Celebration. Hundreds of faithful from all the parts of the Christian village of North Digholdong celebrated the event with great joy and gladness.
In a momentous occasion filled with joy and solemnity, the community of Pune celebrated the perpetual profession of Br. Ningrei Berno Gonmei and Br. Amit Toppo on 26 January 2024. The event, held at Carmel Haven Pune, marked a significant milestone in the lives of the two brothers as they committed themselves fully to a life of service and dedication to the congregation.
The historic ceremony drew attendees from various communities, with retreatants joining in witnessing this remarkable event. The provincial superior, Fr. Joby Mathew, presided over the solemn Eucharist, imparting blessings and giving guidance to the newly professed brothers. Following the Mass, a short yet hearty felicitation programme took place, acknowledging the commitment and devotion of Br. Ningrei Berno Gonmei and Br. Amit Toppo in the community. In a festive atmosphere the community came together to share in the joy of the occasion.
A delicious festive lunch marked the culmination of the celebration, which helped to encourage solidarity and goodwill among those who were present. The celebration of the perpetual profession is sure to enhance community relationships, as well as to inspire everyone who witnessed the freshly professed brothers' dedication and commitment.
Monday, 22 January 2024, was a very unique day for the Department of St Pauls Multi-Media, Bandra, when showers of blessings in the form of a variety of high quality media equipments were added to the department. According to the Executive Director of the department, Mr Jefferson D’Souza, some of the new equipments are: Datavideo PTZ Camera, Canon Mirrorless DSLR Camera, External Flash for Camera, Gimbal for DSLR, Tripod for Camera and teleprompter, Digital Audio Mixer: Soundcraft Ui24r - 24 channel audio mixer, Wireless Mics, Green Screen and Tablet: Samsung Galaxy S7FE.
Fr Joby Mathew, the Provincial Superior, in the presence of our community members and staff from the campus, invoked God’s blessings through a simple rite of blessing on the department and on all those who serve in it, directly or indirectly, from far and near. He said in his brief introduction that it is a matter of great joy and pride to see the steady growth of the department in terms of its set up, equipments and the variety of media services it renders.
The Director of St Pauls Multi-Media, Fr Johny Panamthanam, explained to those present that the adding of the latest equipments was the realization of a long-term dream and project that he had prepared for the department to make it autonomous in its functioning. For a long time the department was making use of the facilities of other departments and at times from outside. This would often affect quality and cause delay in meeting deadlines. With this new set up, the department has become ‘self-sufficient’ and can guarantee high quality production matching any professional studios in the city. Apart from carrying out the production and distribution of routine media materials and programmes, the department also renders media services to other organizations and institutions. The department is entrusted with the construction and maintenance of the website of Mount Mary Basilica, Bandra and the live telecast of all its important religious services throughout the year.
According to Fr Johny, the dream project of the department is to create St Pauls Youtube TV Channel and he also expressed his hope that we will have more Paulines and non-Paulines prepared for this form of our apostolate.
As part of implementing the priorities set out by our last Provincial Chapter, “moderately update the Mumbai Press, as per the requirements.” Cfr. Programmatic Documents, C. Apostolate, Press.1”, the management took into consideration the urgent need of adding a second Three-knife Trimmer to our press in Bandra for quality and efficiency, a new Horizon HT-80 Three-knife Trimmer imported from Japan was installed. The same was blessed on Saturday, 20 January, by Fr Joby Mathew, the Provincial Superior, in the presence of the community members and the staff of our campus.
Welcoming the gathering Fr Provincial said that replacing the existing machines or adding new ones in our press is a clear and visible sign of the vitality and growth of our apostolate of the press. He also underlined the importance and necessity of constantly updating all the ‘means and instruments’ of our apostolate using the latest technology for the effectiveness and steady growth of our apostolate.
Fr Provincial took the occasion to appreciate and thank Br Blaise Thadathil, the Director of the Press, our members and the staff for their dedicated services in maintaining high quality of our products and for its on-time performance. After the rite of blessing, Br Blaise Thadtahil, on behalf our confreres and the staff of the press expressed his gratitude to Fr Provincial, the Provincial Council and our DGA for their constant support and accompaniment in the apostolate of the press. To the delight of everyone present and to make the event ‘sweet and memorable’, traditional laddus were distributed to all!!