Archbishop's to Guma

Archbishop Thomas D'Souza paid a pastoral visit to St. Francis Xavier's Church, Guma. The Archbishop celebrated Holy Mass for the Faithful. After which he met all the action groups in the Parish Hall namely, Parish Council, Youth Groups, different SCC, Pastoral Planning cells, Catechism teachers, SVP group, Mother's group, Ashoknagar faithful.

Each group presented their report to the Archbishop. After the meeting His Grace went to visit the sick of the Parish. He gave them Holy Communion and blessed them. Towards the end of his visit he visited Shanti Dhan Convent, where the sisters are running St. Francis School.

Archbishop Thamas' Programme: April 2017

Sinnet, Bandel Sub-Center, 24th-25th March 2017

Orientation for the youth at Maria Welfare Centre Sinnet, Bandel sub-center was held on 24-25,2017. Sr. Gulab explained the importance of the Church expressing that it is the combination of Priests and Parishioners that make the Church Whole and united, also stressing the role that each Catholic has as a Christian.

SCC Awareness Programme at Chandannagar

Rev. Fr. Orson Wells of the Sacred Heart Church, Chandannagar on 23 rd March 2017, organized an awareness programme for 40 members. It began with an introduction by Mr. Biswas who welcomed the members and introduced the Resource Persons, Sr. Gracemary (SMI) and Sr. Gulab (MSMHC) and the Archdiocese SCC team. We are the body of Christ, his hands and feet..... (I Corinthians 12:27) They had seven Steps and 4 marks of SCC and they were motivated by citing the story of the squirrel which also helped to build the bridge by the tiny grains of sands brought which bound the whole structure strong.

Innaguration of Access Lane at Shanti Daan, Tengra

On the 10th of April the access lane to the Missionaries of Charity facility at Shanti daan, Tangra at 5:00 p.m. It was inaugurated by Honorable Mayor Sovan Chatterjee and Minister Firhad Hakim.

International Women's Day at Baraipur

Baraipur: International Women’s Day was celebrated at the Raghabpur campus on 5th March 2017. About 200 women from 28 different villages assembled for this celebration which was organized by the Department of Social Work & NSS in collaboration with the SXCCAA Women’s Forum. The day began with an input session presented by Dr. Saswati Chaudhuri of Commerce department (Morning).
Father J. Felix Raj, SJ, Principal of St. Xavier’s College and Vice Chancellor of St. Xavier's University was present for the celebration and was felicitated on behalf of all the villages for his outstanding contribution to these villages and for making education available to the rural students.

A meaningful dance drama performed by the students of XADAM set the tone for the group discussion that followed The village women expressed their challenges and gave suggestions as well. The American students who were also present for the programme were moved by the simplicity of the womenfolk. Language was not a barrier for them to
communicate and they enjoyed their participation. The Women’s Forum organized outdoor games post lunch and was happily surprised to see some women dancing.

The Director of Social Work & NSS, Ms. Cheryl Francis thanked Fr. Principal for his constant support and for his concern towards the rural students. She also thanked the NSS Team along with almost 50 volunteers for helping to make this day so special. As a follow up of this programme, the NSS team will be visiting all these villages soon, to form core groups and conduct capacity building workshops for the women.

Diocesan SYNOD 2017

To
The Clergy, Consecrated men & Women, and Lay Faithful
ARCHDIOCESE OF CALCUTTA
Subject: THE DIOCESAN SYNOD 2017
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Since March 2013, every parish in the Archdiocese of Calcutta was actively involved in formulating The Pastoral Plan (PPP) based on 12 ‘concerns’ or areas of the living Gospel of Jesus Christ at the Parish level by making use of the working papers on each concern. That elaborate exercise is now coming to a close with the actual Parish Pastoral Plans and “Parish Cells” in place. I wish to thank Fr. Dominic Gomes (VG), all the members of the ‘Pastoral Plan Central Core committee’, all the Parish Pastoral Plan Committees headed by the Parish priest/Priest in-charge, and all who have participated in this extensive activity.
Preparing the Archdiocesan Pastoral Plan based on the Parish pastoral Plans is the next step. After consulting the Council of Priests, I have decided to convene a DIOCESAN SYNOD for this purpose. It will take place at Morning Star Regional Seminary, Barrackpore, from 27th September 2017 (evening) to 1st October 2017. The Archdiocesan Pastoral Plan Core Committee representing priest, consecrated men & women and lay Faithful will be the Preparatory Committee.
Canons 460-468 of the Code of Canon Law lay down norms regarding the purpose, membership and procedural details of the Diocesan Synod. Accordingly, the Archbishop will preside over the Synod, and the following will be the members:
Vicar General
Judicial Vicar
Members of Priests’ Council
All Parish Priests/Priests in-charge
Archdiocesan Pastoral Plan Core Committee
Secretary of the Parish Pastoral Plan Core team of each Parish
Major Superiors (men & women)
CRI: President & Secretary of each deanery
Secretaries of the Archdiocesan Commissions
Presidents of Archdiocesan Action Groups

All the members will have regular Animation Programmes, the first one being on Monday, 13th March 2017 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Seva Kendra Calcutta. All the members are requested to attend this Programme. Those from distant places (especially Midnapore Deanery and distant parishes in North 24 Parganas Deanery) may come to Seva Kendra Calcutta on Sunday, 12th March 2017 evening by 6 p. m.
Prayer is very essential for any event of grace. I exhort all of you to pray earnestly to God, the Father of mercies through Jesus Christ Our Lord, for enlightenment from the Holy Spirit to prepare ourselves well for this ecclesial event. An official prayer will be made available soon.
May the Diocesan Synod help us to discern the will of God for the Archdiocese as we strive to live our Christian vocation as a community of faith, hope and love in the Archdiocese of Calcutta.

 United in prayer,
Yours sincerely,
Thomas D’ Souza
Archbishop of Calcutta