St Antony’s Shrine, Kerekatte declared Holy Pilgrimage Centre

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, June 14, 2013:  June 13, Thursday proved to be a great day in the history of the St Antony’s Shrine at Kerekatte when it was officially proclaimed as a shrine (holy land and holy pilgrimage centre) by Monsignor Baptist Menezes, Vicar General of Udupi Diocese. The declaration was done during the annual feast of Padua held here on Thursday.

The Holy mass was  celebrated by Mangalore Bishop  Rev. Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza ,  while Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo, Bishop of Udupi, Dr Robert M Miranda,  Dr Lawrence Mukkuzhy and  Dr Mar Joseph Arumachadath, Bishops of Gulbarga, Belthangady and  Bhadravati  respectively were the  concelebrants.

 At a function held later on, Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo, Bishop of Udupi felicitated Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza, Bishop of Mangalore, for his contribution to Kerekatte shrine.  Thousands of devotees took part in the ceremony with great devotion and religious fervor.

Fr Xavier Pinto has been appointed the official Director of the pilgrimage centre.

A special mass ceremony and Novena is held every Tuesday here. Mid-day meal arrangements are also made  for outstation devotees who visit the shrine to  attend the Novena and mass.

History : St Antony’s Chapel, Kerekatte, the sub-station of St Philip Neri Church, Basrur, is  located on the Kundapur-Balebare Ghat Road.

 It is said some Hindus  found a wooden statue of St Anthony while ploughing a field and  kept it by the road side  and worshipped it. Later  Blessed Joseph Vaz  who noticed this miraculous statue blessed it and erected in a thatched shed.  A shrine was erected by Bishop Victor R Fernandes. Fr Placid Pereira built a small shed here in 1967. Fr Joe Mary Shenoy  erected a 13 feet high statue of St Antony on March 15, 1977.  In the later years, the shrine has  seen development  under the  leadership of its director Fr Xavier Pinto and under the guidance of Bishop of Mangalore Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza.