Feast of St. Pedro Poveda, 28th July 2008

Celebration of the 28th of July- Martyrdom of our Founder- St. Pedro Poveda.

The Feast of St. Pedro Poveda was commemorated in Pune with a Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and a get together thereafter.

The Bishop of Pune, Valerian D’Souza was the main celebrant and 4 priests concelebrated the 6 pm Mass. The following is a summative of Bishop’s preaching, ‘Jesus came to transform. The Eucharist is a sacrament of transformation, as we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, we must let Jesus transform us and then we go out to transform. From the start of the church, there has been a need for transformation but it has mainly been looked upon as the role of the priests and nuns. However post the Second Vatican Council, there have been many lay movements. Many lay men and women play an important role in the church. The Teresian Association works in the field of education and women development and their place in society and in the church.

Some important characteristics of the members are the faith in Christ and a life of prayer because prayer and inspiration of the Holy Spirit only have the power to transform, the Holy Spirit being the agent to transform and evangelize. To do this you must be knowledgeable, for this ongoing education and formation is very important. Finally one must have the courage to preach the Gospel values. Pedro Poveda gave his life for the Gospel values. Pope Benedict XVI at the World Youth Day at Cologne said that Christ came to transform. He transformed death to life. Jesus’ mission was to transform people and society. Let us be salt and light, let us have the courage to be agents of change.’


After the Mass, the congregation was invited to a celebration in Eichstatt Hall. Savitha Pais, President of ACIT India welcomed the audience and introduced the Association to them. Thereafter the youth presented a splendid powerpoint on the life of Pedro Poveda and through a contemporary dance representation, unveiled their minds on the role of the youth. This montage was choreographed by Hrishikesh Pawar. After an expression of gratitude to all present, the persons gathered enjoyed some snacks and some tete a tete.