There were religious men and women from the Gulbarga Diocese who gathered for the first convention of CRI Gulbarga Diocese. The ceremony was held at the Mother of Divine Grace Cathedral in Kalaburagi on 1 July 2023. In his welcoming remarks, Fr Maxim Mesquite SJ, president of the CRI, praised the tremendous work done by the diocese bishop as well as his radical approach to reaching out to the needy in his diocese. During his introductory keynote address, the Most Rev Dr. Miranda expressed the following statement: “We cannot imagine a diocese like ours without the presence of the Religious.” The Bishop’s words were a prophetic call to the religious to reach out to the people residing in the peripheries as the pope had intended. The resource person of the day, Rev Fr Dionysius Vaz SJ, Provincial Superior of Karnataka Jesuits and Vice President of CRI Karnataka Region, presented a talk on the topic “Discipleship in troubled times”. A challenge in this day and age is to have a vision and a dream for one’s own religious life. Although it is challenging, one must take risks to spread the word about Jesus.
A number of groups were formed as a part of the talks in order for the religious community to share their experiences and challenges. All newcomers were introduced and welcomed to the larger Religious gathering after the group presentation was completed. After a successful conclusion of the entire program, Very Reverend Fr Dionysius Vaz SJ, Provincial Superior of the Karnataka Jesuits, offered the holy Eucharist during the closing ceremony.
