Abu Dhabi: The Konkani Community of St. Paul’s Catholic Church Mussafah, Abu Dhabi bade farewell to their beloved Spiritual Director Rev. Fr. Ashok Gonsalves OFM. Cap.on November 10 at the end of his tenure as Assistant Parish Priest of St. Paul’s Church.
After the 6 pm Konkani Mass, the Konkani community arranged a farewell party and over 400 people attended the mass and then for the cultural programme and prayed for his future mission.
After the Holy Mass, the Master of the Ceremony Suresh Saldanha requested all priests and members of Apex Committee to join Fr. Ashok in a procession to lead him to the dais.
A small cultural programme was arranged after the procession. Konkani Community Chief Coordinator Robert Pinto welcomed all the guests. Fr. Paul Koenig OFM Cap. Kustos, AVOSA, Rev. Fr. Valerian Fernandes OFM Cap, Chancellor AVOSA, Rev. Fr. Ani Xavier OFM Cap, Parish Priest, Rev. Eugene Matioli OFM Cap, Asst. Parish Priest and Rev. Fr. Biju OFM Cap, Asst. Parish Priest were present.
In his welcome speech, he praised Fr. Ashok for his astute leadership quality, dedication and commitment for the welfare of the community. He stressed that Konkani community would miss him en-masse and the vacuum created by his absence would be felt and difficult to fill. He also commended that he had taken the Konkani community of Mussafah to a different level within a short span of 2 years.
Maria Pereira, Asst. Treasurer of Apex committee read the Maanpotr highlighting his background and all the achievements during his period.
Rev. Fr. Valerian Fernandes honoured him on the occasion. The Konkani Apex Team members gave a flower bouquet and a photo album as a memoir. All the priests spoke about Fr. Ashok and his contribution to the Catholic Church in general and for Konkani community and African community in particular as he was also the spiritual director for African Community. A huge cake was cut as a token of love and appreciation by all priests and members of Apex Committee.
The choir group sang a farewell song, lyrics of which were written by Suresh Saldanha and music was composed by Ashwin Dias. A fusion dance was performed by Mussafah youngsters who were given rousing applause by the gathering. Members of all Apex team presented a memento as a token of love and appreciation for the services he has rendered to the Konkani community.
In his farewell speech, Fr. Ashok appreciated the Konkani community and the support he had received from them. He also mentioned how much he would miss their love and affection. He assured his prayer to them and stressed to keep unity within community which, he added, would further strengthen them.
The Apex Committee Treasurer John D’Lima proposed a vote of thanks and Rev. Fr. Paul Koenig ended the function with final blessings to the gathering.
