Australia / Oceania

Media Release

Melbourne, Sep 18 : Melbourne Konkans under the banner of Melbourne Konkan Association (MKC) celebrated the Nativity feast with much vigour, gaiety and enthusiasm on Saturday - September 10, 2022 having put a couple of years of virtual celebrations behind. All roads led to the bayside suburb of Aspendale, South-East Victoria where Konkans congregated in large numbers in their traditional best.

‘Sakkad Sangatha Melyan, Sakkad Lagi Saryan; Amche Tale Ek Karyan, Moryek Hogolsiya’, - the celebrations began with this evergreen Marian hymn that resonated in St Louis de Montfort’s School Hall. Hundreds of children offered flowers and venerated the statue of Infant Mary.

The Association’s Vice-President Loyal Andrade welcomed the gathering before the mass commenced. The Celebrant of the Mass was Fr Prakash Bryan Menezes, Parish Priest of ‘Our Lady of Sacred Heart’ Catholic Church in Alice Springs, Northern Territory who is also the Episcopal Vicar for the southern part of the Diocese in Central Australia. In his homily, he touched upon various aspects of Mother Mary’s life and brought out the traits of her being an ideal Mother. He wished the huge congregation made up of nearly 700, a very happy feast and prayed to our Mother to shower Her choicest blessings on us all. Fr Anil Mascarenhas, Parish Priest of St Kevin’s Parish in Hampton Park, South-East Victoria could not be present for the Event as he was away in the United States attending a Conference.

The dedicated MKC Choir Group sang their hearts out reverberating in everyone’s ears which enhanced the beauty of the Mass. During the offertory procession, fresh vegetables and fruits were offered.

Once the spiritual celebrations ended, the social festivities began in the same venue. The comperes for the evening Stephen P. D’Souza and Anita Pinto took over and thence were a smooth flowing of the extraordinary extravaganza that unfolded. A cake in honour of Mother Mary’s birthday was cut with all the Associations Presidents since its inception present on the Stage. The Association’s President Philomen Fernandes highlighted the achievements of the year in her speech.

As part of entertainment, the three groups – Cranbourne Stars, Eastern Group and Western Butterflies gave a scintillating performance that enthralled all. A ‘Marian Housie Housie’ soon conducted and the winners took home with them some great prizes.

The Sponsors were felicitated without whom they could not carry out an Event of this scale. The Association’s Secretary, Dolly Sequeira Cutinho thanked one and all for making the Event a great success. From half past three in the afternoon, the festivities carried on with much enthusiasm culminating only at ten at night. The Baila brought down the curtains of Monthi Fest 2022 – a memorable day of community gathering.

Melbourne Konkan Community Inc. (MKC) is a registered association based in Victoria - Australia. It welcomes all Catholics from Mangalore residing in Melbourne to be a part of this growing community. MKC committee members can be contacted by emailing to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To know more about MKC and its activities, please login to Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/MelbourneKonkanCommunity. Website: www.mkc.net.au