The town’s Christian group put their coronary heart and soul into the restoration of St Xavier’s Church in Pune Cantonment. On December 3, which can also be the feast of the patron saint of the church St Francis Xavier, the church was reopened for companies after months of restoration work. A grand particular Mass was held within the night with a number of clergymen in attendance, together with reverend John Rodrigues, Bishop of Poona, and revenred Fr Agnelo Mascarenhas, Provincial of the Pune Jesuits.
The church, an historical Gothic stone construction that was accomplished within the 1860s, has been a vibrant hub of exercise for the devoted from the Christian group. The renovation was necessitated resulting from roof leakage and the interior plaster having crumbled.
The renovation work that passed off in two phases during the last two years concerned revamping the roof, replastering the interior partitions, levelling the courtyard, fixing {the electrical} and sound system, becoming paver blocks, and repairing a part of the compound wall, amongst different minor works. Church authorities stated the renovation was achieved in such a manner that the sober look of the construction was maintained.
Parish priest of the church, Fr Joseph D’Souza, coordinated with the parishioners and took the lead within the restoration work. Bishop Rodrigues, who has been appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Bombay, informed The Indian Categorical that the renovation of the church stands as a testomony of how a group coming collectively for a shared challenge results in deeper bonds of affection and strengthens unity.
A number of clergy members and the devoted spoke about how individuals from all communities are drawn to the church for its peaceable interiors, its calming affect and solemnity.
The primary Mass within the church was celebrated by Rev. Fr Basil Haefely and the oldest parish exercise was the Convention of St. Vincent de Paul in 1867. By the way, the well-known St. Vincent’s Excessive Faculty in Pune Camp had been named after St. Vincent de Paul
Among the many church’s most placing options are two giant murals by famend artist Angelo da Fonseca, dated 1944, situated at two ends of the church’s wings. One mural depicts the arrival of St Francis Xavier in Goa in 1542. These artworks are culturally and traditionally vital.
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