St Sebastian Feast celebrated at Bela Church

The feast of St Sebastian was celebrated on 16th February, 2025 at 9.00a.m, at Our Lady of Dolours Church, Bela. Bela Church has a beautiful tradition of honouring St Sebastian celebrating the Sunday prior to the Confraternity Sunday as St Sebastian Sunday. There is the history behind this feast that when the people and live stock suffered an unusual ill health years ago the families invoked to St Sebastian. As the result of prayer, the people and the live stock regained their health back. In order to express their gratitude, they began celebrating St Sebastian's Sunday every year , the Sunday before Confraternity Sunday with festal mass and procession. This unique pious and sentimental tradition continues up to now.

The Celebration began with the hoisting of the flag of Annual Feast in the premises in-front of the Church as the mark of beginning of the festivities. Fr Praveen Joy Saldanha, Professor at St Jospeh Seminary, Mangalore did the honour of hoisting the flag. The Eucharistic Celebration was presided over by Fr Praveen Joy Saldanha accompanied by Fr Stany Pereira, the Parish Priest and Fr Rocky Fernandes, Principal, St Mary's College, Bela.

The people devoutly participated in the Eucharistic Celebration and in the procession. Thereafter, the Parish Priest greeted the people on the occasion of the feast appreciating their sentiments of gratitude to St Sebastian.