by Avril Baptista
MUMBAI, NOV 29, 2018: On Sunday, November 24, at the end of the Church’s liturgical year, Saint Dominic Savio parish Wadala east celebrated the Feast of ‘Christ the King’ with a celebratory Eucharist, solemn adoration, and a grand procession of about 1000 people.
Pope Pius XI instituted this feast in 1925 with the theme “Pax Christi in regno Christi”, the peace of Christ in the reign of Christ, which signifies that we live in the peace of Christ when we surrender our lives to him every day, accept him as our God, Saviour, and King and allow him to rule our lives. This year’s theme ‘Christ the King of the Universe, King of our Families’ centred on honouring Jesus not just as the universal King, but also as the head of each of our homes and families.
The Holy Eucharist was meaningful as the priests explained the significance of the day. After the morning Holy Masses, adoration was organised in groups, beginning with the Sunday School children and continuing with the various parish communities. At 5 pm, the Blessed Sacrament left the church in a jeep bedecked with flowers, twinkling with fairy lights past a beautifully crafted rangoli.
The procession was led by a cross bearer, followed by children of the Sunday school, women and men of the community, who held banners and flags proclaiming Christ the King. Finally accompanying the jeep were the altar servers and a number of children dressed in white, looking like angels.
As the procession weaved its way towards the designated stops, the priests of the parish took turns in the jeep holding the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament.
In each of the beautifully decorated stops, scriptures were read in English, Konkani, Marathi, and Tamil, hymns were sung by the various choirs and our Lord venerated. The procession concluded with a benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at Saint Anthony’s Chapel.