Our Patrons
St Milagres Credit Souhardha Co-Op Society Ltd., Karwar
Mary conceived her Son Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. She is acclaimed as the mother of God and the mother of whole humanity. She is mother to everyone who believes in her Son Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the redeemer of mankind. Mary is called the mother of the needy because of her willingness to partake in the difficulties of her cousin Elizabeth in spite of her own. When Mary conceived in her womb Jesus her cousin Elizabeth too had conceived in her womb a son. Knowing this Mary arose and went to the hill country, to a city of Judah to be with her cousin Elizabeth and to help her. She is referred to as the mother of the family because of her sensitivity to help the family of Cana during the wedding feast. When the wine ran short it is Mary who requested her Son Jesus to do something. At the request of His mother Jesus performs a miracle by turning water into wine.
Mary is also known as the solace of the afflicted. After the crucifixion of Jesus it was Mary who filled the heart of the disciples with courage and hope.
Hence Mother Mary is our Patron. We have chosen her name so that we too get a chance to serve the needy to the best of our ability.
Pope St. John Paul II was born on 18th May 1920 in Poland.
His baptismal name is Karol Jozef Woltyla. He was Pope of the Catholic Church from 16th October 1978 until his death on 2nd April 2005. During his life time he was called the living saint. One of the incidents which took place on the Vatican Square will uphold our stand on him as the living saint. On 13th May 1981, John Paul II was shot and critically wounded by Mehmet Ali Agca. The assassin was sentenced to life imprisonment. Sometimes later Pope John Paul II visited Mehmet in prison and spoke to him. As he came out John Paul II said, "What we talked about will have to remain a secret between him and me. I spoke to him as a brother whom I have pardoned and who has my complete trust. This is the greatness of this man. Today the whole world recognizes him as the father of forgiveness. During his long period of Papacy he has done innumerable good deeds to the whole of humanity. He is loved by all sections of people. On 1st May 2011 the Vatican declared him as a “Saint”.
Mother Teresa was born on 27th August 1910 in Skopje Macedonia formerly the part of Albania.
Her original name was Agnes Gonxha Bojxhiu. At the age of 12, she decided to be a missionary and spread the love of Christ. She joined the Sisters of Loreto, an Irish community of nuns with missions in India. She came to Calcutta of India on 6th January 1929. Vatican originally labeled the order as the Diocesan Congregation of the Calcutta Diocese, and it later came to known as the "Missionaries of Charity". The primary task of the Missionaries of Charity was to take care of those persons who were abandoned. She visited families, nursed the sores of some children, cared for an old lying sick on the road and nursed a women dying of hunger. She started each day in communion with Jesus in the Eucharist and then went out, rosary in her hand, to find and serve Him in “the unwanted, the unloved, the uncared for.” After some months, she was joined, one by one, by her former students.
By the early 1960s, Mother Teresa began to send her Sisters to other parts of India. Her service towards unwanted and unloved was recognized by Indian government as well as by the world community. She received the Noble peace prize in 1979, Bharata Ratna award in1980, Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985 and Order of Australia in 1982. She died on September 5, 1997. Mother Teresa was canonized as a saint on september 4, 2016. Hence Mother Teresa is our source of inspiration to reach to the aggrieved and help them give solace.She is considered as our patron.
Late Bishop William Leonard D’Mello was born on 24th March 1931 and was ordained and installed as the first Bishop of Karwar on 29th April 1976. During his 30 years of tenure as Bishop he led a good shepherd’s life and strived for all-round development giving importance to spiritual, social, educational and economic needs of the people. His concern and service extended to all people without consideration of caste and creed. After serving with dedication and love for 30 years he relinquished his office as the Bishop of Karwar on 24th February 2007.
During our visit on the occasion of one of his Birthdays, his Lordship couldn’t speak much but blessed us with the magical words “Milagres, Milagres everywhere Milagres”. Thereafter our Milagres is growing by leaps and bounds. He passed away on 19th July 2011. We have a strong belief that one day he will be announced as “Saint”.