Chandel, Jan 19: Deacon Nula Augustine Anal of Anal Khullen village in Chandel district was ordained as the 5th Catholic Priest from the Anal Naga community on Friday. He was ordained by Most Rev. Dr. Linus Neli, D.D. Archbishop of Imphal during the 17th edition of the Anal Catholic Conference was held at Anal Khullen village in Chandel.
The Anal Naga community has a Catholic population of around 2000 scattered under St. Joseph’s Parish, Sugnu; St. Dominic Mission Centre, Lamphoupasna and St. Peter’s Parish, Monsang Pantha.
The conference was held under the aegis of Anal Catholic Union (ACU) with Kl. Warson as President, Sr. Peter as General Secretary, Sr. Angtun as Information and Publicity Secretary and Bs. Mary as Finance Secretary/Treasurer.
It was attended by hundreds from 8 (eight) churches namely Holy Trinity Catholic Church (HTCC), Lamphoupasna; Anal Community, Our Lady of Lourdes Church; St. Thomas Church, Beru-Anthi; St. John Church, Anal Khunou/Y Khutha village; Christ the King Church, Thungcheng; Sacred Heart Church, Beru-Unopat; Mary Immaculate Church, Anal Khullen and St. George Church, Lamphou Charu.
Held under the theme “All of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you” (John 17:21) event began with the arrival of delegates at Anal Khullen village on Wednesday where they were put up in their respective camps.
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The main event of the conference was the ordination of Deacon Nula Augustine Anal from Anal Khullen village which was conferred by His Grace Most Rev. Dr. Linus Neli, D.D. Archbishop of Imphal.
The Ordination was attended by about 30 Priests, Sisters (Nuns) from the Anal Naga community, friends and well wishers besides the campers/delegates.
Blessing the new priest, Archbishop Linus Neli said being ordained into Priesthood is to answer God’s call to serve Him and all humankind, that to become a Priest is to leave your family, tribe, home and community behind and serve wherever one is placed.
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During the conference, a series of competitions were also held. As for the group song competition St. John Church, Y/Khutha were the winners with Sacred Heart Church, Unopat and Mary Immaculate Church, Anal Khullen coming in the second and third place respectively.
In the choreography competition, Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Lamphoupasna; Mary Immaculate Church, Anal Khullen and St. John, Y/Khutha were place first, second and third respectively. PS. Jomhring of Anal Khullen, Bs. Paulina and Rd. Joy of Lamphoupasna were the winners of the solo competition and placed first, second and third respectively.
In the Bible Quiz competition for Junior, Lamphoupasna were placed first with Y/Khutha and Anal Community of Our Lady of Lourdes placed second and third. In the senior category, Christ King won the first prize with Mary Immaculate and HTCC coming in at second and third.
Main speakers of the event Rev. Fr. Kl James Tangshel, Director, CMC, Koirengei, Imphal; Rev. Fr. Roy J.PP St. Joseph’s Parish, Sugnu; Rev. Fr. Jose Kaniyampady, Sdb, Priest in charge, St. Dominic’s Mission Centre, Lamphou Pasna; Rev. Fr. Joseph Bungsong, Dean of Study, Good Shepherd Seminary, Dimapur; Rev. Fr. RI Augustine, Sdb, Headmaster & Counsellor, St. Joseph School, Sajouba and Rev. Fr. Ruwnglal Friny Peter, CSC, APP & Principal, St. John Bosco Secondary School, Mawpat spoke on various topics such as The Parenting role-ecumenical perspective, Building a Christian Family, The Catholic Priest – an agent of change, The Youth – Challenges and Opportunities.
Due to various circumstances, especially with the COVID-19 and the current crisis, the conference was held after about 7-8 years.
The Anāl Catholic Conference came to an end on Sunday with the outgoing president of ACU, Kl. Warson Anal de-hoisting the flag and handing it over to the incoming president, PS. Blessing Anal.
The conference was a huge success considering the location and the various challenges faced by the executive members of ACU, the Central Organising Committee and the Local Organising Committee.
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