It was the evening of 17th May 2023 and the Angelore parishioners were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their new assistant parish priest. Their faces, especially those of altar servers and the youth, showed a mixture of joy and sadness. They were sad because the young Assistant Parish Priest, Rev. Fr Lawrence Cutinho was getting transferred; and happy because a new Assistant Parish Priest was arriving. The fact that the new Assistant Parish Priest was not as young as Rev. Fr Cutinho was disheartening too.
But within a few days, children and the youth thronged around Rev. Fr Gerald Pinto. That was the aura created by him! An amiable person by nature, he mingled with all parishioners as if he had known them for years. His closeness to the children was evident by the fact that soon he would address each and every child and youth by name. The spell he cast on the parishioners, whichever parish he served was evident by the fact that whenever someone from Derebail came to Angelore, they would say, “ಆಮ್ಚೊ ಪಾದ್ರ್ಯಾಬ್”.
But as they say, all good things in life come to end. And in case of Rev. Fr Gerald the day came too early. After serving Angelore for a year, he is all set to continue his pastoral work at Milagres.
To thank Rev. Fr Gerald Pinto for his selfless service to Angelore in the past year, a farewell programme was organised on 9th June 2024 after the 7.30 a.m. mass. Mr. Paul Rodrigues, Vice President of the PPC welcomed the gathering and thanked him for his service. Rev. Fr Fredrick Monteiro, Parish Priest, thanked him for the companionship he received in the brief period of five days.
Rev. Fr Gerald was then honoured with a shawl, a bouquet of flowers, a memento and a fruit basket by Rev. Fr Fredrick Monteiro, Mr. Paul Rodrigues, Mrs. Lolina D’Souza and Ms. Renita Menezes.
In his final address, Rev. Fr Gerald Pinto thanked former parish priest Rev. Fr William Menezes, present parish priest Rev. Fr Fredrick Monteiro, Vice President and Secretary of PPC, Coordinator of Pastoral Commissions, and the entire parish for the love and support extended to him.
On this occasion, the Vice President and Secretary of PPC, and Coordinator of Pastoral Commissions welcomed the new parish priest Rev. Fr Fredrick Monteiro with a bouquet of flowers.
After the mass the parishioners shook hands with Rev. Fr Gerald Pinto, wishing him success and God’s blessings in his future endeavours.
Photographs: Neil Kenneth Fernandes
