St. Anthony’s Fete 2013
by
Michael Ali
Karachi, June 16: Catholic Karachi was en fete on Sunday,quite literately, as
the annual fete of St. Anthony’s was held amidcelebrations marking the closing
of the year-long platinum jubilee festivities.
The day was hot as the June sun beat down mercilessly butthis did not scorch
the spirits of the volunteers nor the visitors who made ita point to visit the
stalls and meet and greet old friends. The music from therequest stall also
helped in creating a lively atmosphere.
His Grace, Archbishop Joseph Coutts, on arrival was welcomedby the Fete
Committee, headed by Mr. Joaquim Alvares and Rev. Fr. MarioRodrigues, Parish
Priest and was presented with a bouquet. He then proceeded tocut the ribbon
declaring the fete open amid loud applause.
This year the fete had about 25 stalls vying for thepatronage of the
parishioners and their guests. About half the stalls wereof delicacies of Goa,
South India andPakistan including one of ‘gola-gandas’. The other stalls were
of games such asRinging the Ducks, Minute to Win it, Novelties, Angry Birds,
Lucky Number,Wheel of Fortune etc. Some stalls have been regularly set up by
the samevolunteers for 35 plus years such as Agnello Noronha’s Ringing the
Ducks andMrs. Edith D’Souza’s Eat and Treat. Other stalls were put up by
parishorganizations such as the Vincent de Paul Society, the Lectors, the
Choir, theKnights of the Altar etc.
Mrs. Edith D’Souza also has the singular honor of being themost senior
stall-holder at 89!
In his brief remarks, His Grace, stated that he was veryhappy to see so many
people working together for a common cause andcongratulated them for their
dedication and hard work. He also informed thepeople that St. Thomas’ parish,
Malir was collecting funds for several years tobuild a new church which is a
dire need of the parish. Unfortunately, they wereno-where near the required
figure but he was sure that St. Anthony’s parishwould extend a helping hand.
Rev. Fr. Mario Rodrigues, thanked the Archbishop for sparinghis valuable time
to grace the occasion and also thanked the parishioners fortheir hard-work in
making the fete a success. He announced the establishment ofthe ‘Platinum
Jubilee Endowment Fund’ starting with Rs. 75 lakhs ( one for eachyear). The
interest from this fund will be used for the promotion of education.
Fr. Mario assured the Archbishop that the parish would make asizable
contribution towards the building of the church. Fr. Mario has the distinction
of being one of the fewpriests to have first-hand knowledge of church building
as he was associatedwith the building of Sts. Peter and Paul church in Azam
Basti recently.
He later, presented him with a copy of the souvenir printedfor the occasion.
His Grace, made it a point to visit each and every stall andmeet with the
helpers. He was visibly happy and enjoyed mingling with his flockand also
tried his hand at everygame….winning several prizes in the process.
He tasted all that was offered to him washing it down with abottle of the
coldest Sprite that could be found in the tub of icy cold water.
Later, the Archbishop drew the number of the winner of thefirst prize (a motor
cycle) of the St. Anthony’s Platinum Jubilee BumperRaffle. This was followed by
the drawing of other numbers by prominentparishioners. This successful venture
was entrusted to Mr. Anthony (Tony) Almeida who carried out the task
withaplomb.
As always, the fete honoring the patron of the parishinvolves a lot of
planning and hard workwhich begins nearly 6 months in advance. Many are
involved in the collection ofadvertisements, banners, products, printing of
coupons and selling of the same,accounting, setting up of stalls etc. These are
the unsung parishioners who doso to collect funds to be used for the parish’s
many charitable works.
Lastly, the security lads, under the command of DanielMisquita, ensured
fool-proof security so that the parishioners could enjoy theday.
