Mangaluru: The Infant Jesus Shrine will celebrate the 'Annual Feast of Infant Jesus 2024' on January 14 and 15, at the shrine situated on Carmel Hill at Bikarnakatte in the city.
The press release issued by the shrine on Tuesday, said that the festivity will be formally inaugurated at Holy Cross Church, Kulshekarm on January 4 at 4:00 pm, with the votive offering procession beginning. The inaugural will be followed by an inter-religious meet and flag hoisting.
The Festal Mass on January 14 will be presided over by Rt Rev Oswald Joseph Lewis, who is Bishop Emeritus, Jaipur Diocese. A special mass will be offered for the welfare of the sick at 10:30 am and presided over by Most Rev. Alban D'Souza, Rector of St Lawrence Minor Basilica, Attur-Karkala. On January 15, the Festal Mass to be held at 10.30 am will be presided over by Rt. Rev. Dr. Francis Serrao, Bishop of Shimoga and at 6.00 pm will be presided over by Most Rev. Archibald Gonsalves, the Vicar Provincial of the Karnataka Goa Carmelite Province.
Masses will also be held throughout the day on January 14. The mass in Konkani will be held at 6:00 am and 9:00 am, in English at 7:30 am and in Kannada at 1:00 am. The mass for the sick and the aged will be held in Konkani at 10:30 am, said the press release.
On the second day of the Feast on January 15, the Festal Mass will be at 6:00 am and 7:30 am, in Konkani at 9:00 am, the Mass for Children at 10:30 am and in Malayalam (Latin Rite) at 1:00 pm.
A special mass will also be offered for children on January 6 at 6:00 pm and will be presided over by Rt. Rev Ignatius D'Souza, Bishop of Bareilly.
The Infant Jesus Shrine will organize nine days of 'Novena Prayers' from January 5 to January 13, with nine masses being offered every day. The masses are scheduled to be held in the morning at 6.00, 7.30, 9.00 and 10.30 in Konkani; at noon 1.00 pm in Konkani; and in the evening at 4.00 in Malayalam, 5.00 in English and 7.30 in Kannada. The main mass at 6.00 pm will be celebrated in Konkani in the open air.
In addition, a 'Eucharistic Adoration' will be conducted daily from 11.30 am to 12.45 pm, said the press release. 'Anna Santarpane' vegetarian meal will be served to the devotees on all the days of the novena and feast days at noon.
The Shrine authorities also said that a blood donation camp will be held on January 11 and 12 from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm.
For further details, people may contact Fr Stifan Perera, Director, Infant Jesus Shrine, Mangaluru, on mobile phone number 9844503706.

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Melbourne (PTI): Australia skipper Pat Cummins' chances of playing at next year's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka are "quite grey at the moment" as he battles a back stress issue that has affected his participation in the ongoing Ashes series against England.
Cummins returned to play the third Ashes Test in Adelaide after missing the opening two matches, picking up six wickets to help Australia clinch the series 3-0.
However, the Australian Test and ODI skipper will take no further part in the series and even his participation at the T20 World Cup is also uncertain. All-rounder Mitchell Marsh is Australia's T20I captain.
"Looking forward to the World Cup, whether he will be there or not, I can't really say. It's quite grey at the moment. We're hopeful," head coach Andrew McDonald was quoted as saying by 'ESPNCricinfo'.
The fast bowler was diagnosed with a lumbar stress reaction during Australia's tour of the West Indies in July. He underwent rehabilitation before being cleared for a carefully managed return in Adelaide.
"He's pulled up fine. He won't play any part in the rest of the series and that was a discussion that we had a long time out around his return," McDonald said.
"We were taking on some risk and people that reported on that would understand the risk associated with that rebuild. We've now won the series and that was the goal.
"So, to position him for further risk and jeopardise him long-term is not something that we want to do and Pat's really comfortable with that," he added.
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin on February 7 across India and Sri Lanka with the summit clash set for March 8.
Australia's first match is on February 11 against Ireland at Colombo. Although Cummins captains the Test and ODI teams, all-rounder Mitch Marsh leads Australia in the shortest format.
