Bangalore (AsiaNews / CBCI) - For the first time in India, a Catholic layman, has donated and built a church for his community. The story comes from Venkatala-Yelahanka, in the Diocese of Bangalore (Karnataka), where thanks to the entrepreneur and philanthropist Ronald Colaco, 1,200 faithful can now pray in the Holy Rosary Church. More than 2,500 people, locals and from other parts of the country, attended the inauguration, during which the Archbishop of Bangalore Bernard Moras celebrated Mass and blessed the new church.
At a cost of 27
million rupees (about 400 thousand Euros), the white church is built in modern
style, and can accommodate at least a hundred of the faithful seated. Under
the altar there is a wooden sculpture depicting the Last Supper (see photo).
After
the service, the prelate thanked and praised the philanthropist, calling him
"a shining example of harmony" within the community. Recently,
in fact, Colaco was involved in the restructuring of the ancient Hindu temple of Hoysala, in Chikkajala.
Colaco,
president of the International Federation
of Karnataka Christian Association (Ifkca), is involved in many charitable
activities. At
the ceremony, he said he saw God in a dream four years ago, asking him to build
a church. A
few days later, he discovered that the Archbishop wanted to erect a new church
in the area of Yelahanka. Thus
was born the project, in which the whole Colaco family has helped.
Erected
in 1953, the Archdiocese of Bangalore covers an area of 27,123 km and a
population of more than 16 million people. Of these, 425 thousand are
Catholics. With
the construction of the Holy Rosary Church,
the number of parishes have become 135.