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Mangalorean Catholic Association of Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (MCA DMV) Celebrates  ‘Monthi Fest 2024’ .!

The feast of the Nativity of Our Lady was celebrated on Saturday, September 14, 2024, by members of the Mangalorean Catholic Association of Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. The annual celebration took place at the St. Leo the Great Catholic Church, Fairfax, Virginia. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Indian Head, MD. The event was well attended by over 180 guests, including both familiar faces and newcomers, and it was an indication that the organization was growing.

The service began with the veneration of Infant Mary at the Church’s outdoor grotto. While the men and women arrived in traditional Indian attire, the children lined up outside the church carrying flower baskets with fresh flowers from their gardens to venerate baby Mother Mary. Everyone joined the choir in singing the hymns ‘Sokkad Sangatha Melyan’ and ‘Moriyek Hogolsiyan’ as children showered baby Mary with flowers.  

After the flower offering, Fr. Devan, the Parish Priest of Corpus Christi Church in Aldie, celebrated Mass. The choir and liturgy were led by Malin Noronha, with Clint Almeida and Reynel Castelino providing guitar accompaniment. It was truly inspiring to see the children participating in the choir through hymns and readings. The group moved over to the Church in procession for the festive Mass, which was done partly in Konkani and partly in English. Everyone participated and sang several Konkani hymns during the Mass. The priest praised the choir, saying that listening to the children’s angelic voices made him feel as though he was in heaven.

At the close of Mass, MCA Secretary Renita Nazareth offered thanks to the coordinators, choir members, and volunteers. Afterward, everyone gathered for a group photo by the altar. Then everyone proceeded to the school gym hall for the traditional Monthi fest luncheon.

Clement Noronha, Vice President of the Mangalorean Association of DC/MD/VA, welcomed everyone warmly. He humorously remarked on how, each time the group meets and talks, they discover distant family connections. Fr. Dewan blessed the fresh seeds (‘noven’) that was just received from India. Later, the blessed ‘noven’ was crushed, mixed with milk, and distributed to all attendees.

The hall was beautifully decorated by the MCA committee, with food tables adorned with banana leaves and other traditional items. The luncheon featured a traditional Monthi Fest meal, with home-cooked vegetarian dishes prepared by each MCA family. President of MCA, Julia Dante invited Celine Rodrigues Prabhu to lead the grace before meals and all the grandparents joined her. Irene D’cunha shared the significance of the festival that is celebrated as one family. The delicious vegetarian lunch, prepared by all the attendees, featured dishes like sannas, pothrade, rice, channa, bende, sango, vegetable curry, sambar, gosalen, karam, beetroot and pickle. The meal was topped off with the delicious, traditional Mangalorean dessert, ‘vorn.’ As members enjoyed their meals, they fondly reminisced about their childhood days in India, all while catching up with one another.

After lunch, the committee organized a talent show for kids and families to showcase their talents. Clint Almeida expertly hosted the event. Highlights included a song by Yuvonne Castellino, a duet by the Noronha brothers—Joshua and Jayden—and a Konkani folk dance performed by Merlyn Mathias, Ancilla Fernandes, and Wilma Andrade and an energetic remix of Konkani and Bollywood dance by Anitha Dsouza, Shanaya Dsouza, and Flavia Rebello.   

Julia Dante, thanked everyone involved – MCA members, guests, volunteers, participants, and all who contributed behind the scenes for the dedication and commitment to making this event a success. A sincere thank you to the committee members and their families for all their support and hard work.

Special mention was made to V James Dante for coordinating the logistics of booking the venues and arranging the priest for the mass, Juliet Vaz for sharing with us the Statue of Infant Mother Mary, Santhosh and Prash Sequeira for arranging the fresh corn from India and Valerian Cardoza (Tanya’s Dad) for his help in coordinating the smooth running of the food during lunch and all the volunteers who helped make the event a success.

The festivities ended with a delightful round of Indian masala tea served with a selection of savory and sweet snacks, leaving everyone with fond memories of the day. At the end of the day, it was a wholesome and fun event filled with endless laughter, buzzing activity, lively conversations, new connections, and an atmosphere of love.

The committee has been receiving compliments from both new members and guests during and after the event that motivates them to perform even better at the next events.

Some of the pictures of the event are posted on this article but if you want to see more, please check out the facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/mangaloreandcmdva/

The next event of MCA is the Christmas party that will be held on December 7th, 2024. Please save the date. You can stay updated on activities, events, and information on Mangalorean Catholic Association of Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia by visiting
https://www.mangaloreanassociation.org/