December 16th 2013 was indeed a special day for the Church in Mangalore. In St. Sebastian’s Church Bendur –the mortal remains of the Servant of God Raymond Francis Camillus Mascarenhas were exhumed, identified and transferred from its original place in the nave of the Church, to a newly erected tomb.
he meticulously prepared and long ceremony began at 8.30 am was presided over by Rt. Rev Aloysius Paul D’souza the Bishop of Mangalore. Welcoming the Bishop, the dignitaries and other invitees, Sr Wilberta, the Superior General of the Bethany Congregation said in her speech that it was a special moment of grace for the whole church and people in general and thanked the parish priest Fr Anthony Serrao for constructing the new tomb. Mgr Dennis Prabhu read out the Decree from Vatican permitting the transfer of the mortal remains.
The special tribunal for the conduct of the procedure consisted of Fr Henry Sequeira, the Episcopal delegate; Fr John Mendonca, the Promotor of Justice; Fr Vincent Saldanha, the Notary; Fr George Painadath, the collaborator; medical experts :Dr. Edward Nazareth (MS Ortho) Dr. Ronald Menezes(D. Ortho),
Dr.(Sr.) Jeevitha B.S. (MBBS,MD) and other medical assistants, Sr Theresine and Sr Olinda Pereira the eye witnesses to the burial and a few others.
The biography presented by the Postulator, Sr Lillis, highlighted that the Servant of God Raymond Mascarenhas was a holy priest who served the poor and the marginalized selflessly till his death on 23 December 1960. He founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Little Flower of Bethany (Bethany Sisters) who today work all over India and abroad in several fields, especially in the education of the girl child and in women empowerment programmes.
The Cause of the Beatification and Canoniszation of the Servant of God Mgr RFC Mascarenhas was introduced in 2008, by the Bishop of Mangalore. The newly built tomb has greater access to the public for prayer and devotion. It is a fitting tribute to the man who was the first parish priest, built the present Church and served the parishioners there, as a Compassionate pastor for seventeen long years.
The elaborate programme that began at 8.45 am was introduced at 5.30 p m with the blessing from the Bishop lasted for several hours and ended with a blessing from the Bishop and a thanksgiving hymn. Among the clergy and religious who were specially invited were Fr Cedric Prakash, SJ, the great grand nephew of the Servant of God, rectors and superiors of various institutes and the historical commission members: Fr J B Saldanha, Fr Peter Mascarenhas and Sr Mariette, B S. Sr Hilarita compered the programme.
