Regional Bishops hold Pastoral Council at Kolkata

The annual Bengal Regional Bishops Conference (BRBC) Pastoral Council was held in Kolkata. March 2-3. 2021. at Seva Kendra Calcutta ISM in Tangra. Eight bishops Including Calcutta Archbishop Thomas D'Souza attended the Council which makes pastoral policies and guides dioceses with establishing thrusts and themes for the year. The first day began with an inaugural programme, a classical dance by Park Circus girl Rashmi John. followed by the inaugural Mass at the beautiful SKC Chapel presided over by Bishop Salvadore Lobo of Baruipur president of the BRBC. In his homily he emphasised on St. Joseph. the Patron of the Universal Church. He prayed for the families in particular to have special devotion to St. Joseph and to receive the special intercessory blessings from the universal father as this year is dedicated whim. The first session of the day was an input by Fr Henry Jose MSFS moderated by Bishop Shyamal Bose of Baruipur on Patris Corde the apostolic letter of the Pope on the year of St. Joseph. Fr. Henry explained about the purpose of this Apostolic Letter and presented an overview of the Apostolic Letter. He elaborated on the devotion to St. Joseph in the History of the Church. the special virtues of St. Joseph and the pastoral Implications of 'Paris Corde. His session was thought provoking and set the tone for the entire meeting. This session was followed by reporting on the previous year's activities by the Secretaries/Directors of 18 Regional Commissions which brought to light a good amount of Invaluable work done during the pandemic year 2020. On day two, diocese representatives reported on their activities in the respective dioceses and then it was time for a deliberation on current regional affairs headlined by the upcoming elections in West Bengal. The final session began with an open session to evaluate the meeting and to offer suggestions for the better tomorrow. It was decided that the next meeting is to be held at Darjeeling from 26th of April to 28th of April 2022. The meeting came to an end with a vote of thanks by Bp. Vincent Aind the secretary of BRBC. A team was formed to propose a regional theme for the year 2021-2022.