By BIS Correspondent for BIS Mumbai

The Council Members of Sacred Heart Parish, Yerwada, joyfully celebrated Vianney Sunday on August 9, 2026 from 1:30 p.m. onwards, in honour of St. John Mary Vianney, the Patron Saint of Priests.

The celebration began with an Aarti by Julie John and Jennifer Francis, followed by a Welcome Song and Prayer by Anthony Kardak. A short and meaningful message on the life and virtues of St. John Mary Vianney was presented in Marathi by Anthony Kardak and in English by Allwyn Devdas.

The programme was anchored by Ulrich, who conducted the proceedings smoothly and kept the celebration lively and well organised. Fr Michael Fernandes specially thanked Ulrich for his excellent anchoring and contribution to the success of the programme.

The celebration continued with entertainment and fun games for the priests and Council Members, organised by Margaret Manuel. The games brought great joy, laughter and fellowship to everyone present.

A special felicitation ceremony was held to honour our priests: Fr Crispino D'Souza, Fr Michael Fernandes, Fr Glenn, Fr James and Fr Gregory. The felicitation was a heartfelt expression of gratitude and appreciation for their dedicated service to the parish and the people of God.

The Vote of Thanks was proposed by Cyril Asirvadam, who expressed his sincere gratitude to all the priests for their valuable presence and availability, which made the celebration truly special and successful. He also thanked all the various committees for their wholehearted support and appreciated the Council Members for their generosity, cooperation and commitment in making Vianney Sunday a memorable celebration.

Fr Fernandes addressed the gathering and appreciated the Council Members for their hard work and for remembering and honouring the priests on this special occasion. He also expressed his gratitude to the Council Members for their prayers and continued support for the priests.

Fr Fernandes especially appreciated the Salesian Cooperators Young Youth for their valuable volunteer service. He thanked them for their excellent work in the decoration, sound system and food table arrangements, which contributed greatly to the success of the celebration. In recognition of their dedicated service, one of the Salesian Cooperators Youth was felicitated with a sapling and a shawl.

He also appreciated all the Council Members for their hard work, with special mention of Cyril, Devis, Lucy and Ashitosh for their excellent planning, coordination and execution of the programme.

Before the meal, Fr Fernandes prayed over the food, after which everyone enjoyed a wonderful fellowship meal.

A special word of appreciation goes to the Food Committee — Reena, Reynold, Christine, Edwin, Devdas Annasaheb, Jyoti, Amol, Rahul and Sofy — for preparing and arranging the delicious food and for their dedicated service.

The Vianney Sunday celebration concluded with a joyful fellowship meal, bringing together the priests, Council Members and volunteers in a spirit of gratitude, unity and friendship.

The celebration was a beautiful expression of love and appreciation for our priests and a wonderful example of teamwork, generosity and fellowship within Sacred Heart Parish, Yerwada