INAUGURATION OF LITTLE FLOWER
MONASTERY AT CARMEL HILL - VANCOUVER - CANADA
Dear Friends,
Today is the day October 15th, 2015, the day that
the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.
We the Discalced Carmelites of Karnataka Goa
Province in India and in Canada are grateful to God
and to all of you for coming here to participate in
our joy at the inauguration of Little Flower
Monastery at Carmel Hill. Our hearts turn to God for
his providence, inspiration and guidance. We
wholeheartedly thank Helen Chua Tiampo who
generously contributed towards this whole project in
memory of her loving parents Jaime and Josefina Chua
Tiampo. This is the first ever monastery by the
Karnataka Goa Province of the Discalced Carmelites
established in Canada - Vancouver.
The day was a sunny a beautiful day indeed. The
guest arrived at the site by 10 buses and many other
guests arrived by their own private vehicles. It was
estimated that around 700 people were present for
the event and 50 priest and three bishops for the
liturgical celebrations. It was a fantastic
celebration that highlighted the features of
Karnataka Goa Province. Rev. Fr. Charle Serrao
Provincial delivered a wonderfully prepared message,
followed by a prophetic message from our previous
provincial Fr. Archibald Gonsalves OCD. Archbishop
Michael encouraged the congregation to pray for this
facility that it may cater to future vocations and
to spread Carmelites Spirituality. After the Holy
Eucharistic celebration the Souvenir of Carmel Hill
was released by Bishop Monreo and Helen release Fr.
Rudolf's book THE WAY LESS TRAVELLED.
A wonderful meal was prepared by John Carlos and
Company. Everyone was happy and enjoyed this unique
occasion.
We thank our Archbishop Most Reverend J. Michael
Miller CSB for his wholehearted support in granting
us permission to begin this project and for his
continued encouragement. We are grateful also to
Most Reverend F. B. Henry ( Bishop Calgary Diocese)
and Most Reverend David J. Monroe Bishop of Kamloops
for their valuable presence, prayers and blessings
on this occasion.
Our Provincial Fr. Charles Serrao OCD present amidst
us today to witness this great event along with our
previous Provincial Fr. Archibald R. Gonsalves OCD
who actually encouraged us to have a house of our
own in Canada during his many visits in the last few
years. We are grateful to their support and prayers.
We want to acknowledge the co-operation extended to
us by the Fraser Valley Rural Development Authority
for their support and permissions for developing
this property was represented by David Bennet. We
appreciate the tireless efforts by the Architect
John Clark and his assistant Paul Owens in designing
this beautiful edifice of God. The Alfred Horie
Construction Company have achieved this feat within
a whopping 8 months time is remarkable indeed and
deserves our congratulations and applause. Our
special thanks go to Steve Paone and his team; in a
very concrete way to Dennis Cadrain (Site
Superintendent); Allen, Mark, Robert and other
wonderful workers. We are grateful to Darrell
Wickstrom for his tireless efforts at granting us
timely advise on this project. Steve Creighton
helped us to co-ordinate the whole event of this
celebration. We thank Francis Wong who was
instrumental in coordinating the entire progress of
the building work. Stewart Hayashi was also
instrumental in getting us the Canadian Carmelite
Charitable Society along with Francis Wong. We also
acknowledge the presence of Mr. Ben Kernan from
Florida; and Pam Prior, Emmet McGrath, Mr. Kent and
others who contributed their share towards making
this event a memorable one. We thank the guest
priest who came from Rome: Fr. Ivan Pinto, Fr.
Lawrence D'Mello and Fr. Manoj Braganza. We thank
the local news papers and especially BC Catholic for
their coverage of this event. We thank Rizalina
Geronimo, Jennifer Po and Oscar Geronimo for their
support and help. Especially we thank our Carmelites
Fr. Jerald D'Souza, Fr. Rajesh Madtha, Bro. Joseph
Giroux and Fr. Jason for their help and support. We
also thank all the Carmelites who came from
different regions of Canada.
We thank you all for your prayers and encouragement.
May God be praised through all these works for his
glory. We continue to pray for Helen's health and
may God grant her long life and happiness.
Fr. Rudolf V. D'Souza OCD
Regional Superior - Canada
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