Feast of St. Dominic Savio – Investiture ceremony

-Nimit Kamdar

St. Dominic Savio has a special place in the hearts of the young.  He attracts us with his magnetic aura and personality.  No wonder that his feast (though on 6^th May as per the church calendar) is celebrated in all Salesian schools with great devotion and respect for the saint.  It was no different at St. Joseph’s, Wadala on 6^th July, 2012. 

The day began with a solemn Eucharistic celebration with our newly appointed school leaders, looking dapper in their blazers and armed with school flags, leading the procession to the main altar. The catholic students of the school were in full attendance; so too were the staff and some of the parishioners. Our Principal, Fr. Bernard Fernandes, who was the main celebrant for the mass, invited the congregation to imitate Dominic Savio in leading an exemplary life, doing ordinary things in an extraordinary way.  The non-Catholic students of the secondary section were privileged to view a short video clipping on the life of this great saint during the prayer service conducted for them.

The grand and solemn investiture ceremony for the secondary section of the school was held immediately after the short break.  The guests, Fr. Godfrey D’Sa, Fr. Bernard Fernandes, Ms. Nicole Britto and Mrs. Sangita, were escorted to the stage with a guard of honor by our leaders.  In the pageantry that followed, the Head boy, Neel Mehta, and the assistant Head boy, Sandesh Ramraje, received their ties from Fr. Godfrey D’Sa.  The house captains, Akshay Vasan, Jay Chedda, Nimish Doshi and Parth Chothani, and the vice-captains, Yash Mehta, Moksh Jain, Anuj Patel and Shahzad Faroodi, were bestowed with a similar honor by the Principal, Fr. Bernard Fernandes.  Ms. Nicole and Mrs. Sangita did the honors of investing the class house captains, while the privilege to induct the class monitors and vice monitors was reserved to the respective class teachers.  Mr. Bosco, R.S.P. in charge, invested the leader of our young and energetic R.S.P. troupe.

Addressing the gathering, in particular, the leaders, Fr. Godfrey D’Sa, impressed upon them the need to take responsibility by honing their leadership skills. Fr. Principal thanked the teachers, Ms. Cressieda and Ms. Rina, for the meticulous planning and execution of this impressive ceremony. The sweet words of the school anthem resounded within the precincts of the school hall as the boys sang with gusto and pride: “Boys of Joseph’s…we are the pride of St. Joseph’s.”