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After a six year absence, the Diocese of Roseau will be celebrating the Feast of Christ the King in a big way this year.
The feast which will celebrated on the twenty-fourth of November will take place at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium with a high mass being the highlight, under the theme ‘Stewardship as a Way of Life’.
Bishop of Roseau, His Lordship Gabriel Malzaire, says the solemnity of Christ the King is a very significant event for Catholic Christians, noting that this event is important to acclaim Jesus as King.
“It is important for us because we want to acclaim Christ as King of our lives. So we really wish that this year, which takes us into more than six years since we last had it, we want to celebrate it as a grand celebration, witnessing for Christ as the King of the Diocese, as the King of every parish, as the King of the lives of every individual, Catholic Christian and every individual Christian in Dominica,” Bishop Malzaire stated.
A praise motorcade is one of the activities carded for the day. Various parishes will gather at their respective churches, joining the motorcade along the way to converge at the Dame Mary Eugenia Charles Boulevard.
“So a praise motorcade coming from the various parts of the country, all coming down to the west and the idea is that each community will join the next community and continue on so by the time that they reach Roseau, it’s a motorcade. And it is a praise motorcade, meaning that appropriate music will be played during the drive so that it is just not a drive, but a spiritual drive. And then we assemble on the Dame Eugenia Charles Boulevard and then from there, we will process to the Windsor Park Sports Stadium where the event will be taking place,” Monsignor John-Lewis explained.
The High Mass will be held at ten in the morning, a twist to other years where the mass would be celebrated in the afternoon.
The main highlight of the day is an awards ceremony carded for the afternoon where two individuals from each parish will be awarded for their contribution and stewardship to the church.
“The afternoon session which we call an Extravaganza of Baptise and Scent, which is the theme of the special month. And then that will include also an award ceremony. The youth will be doing several performances including flash mobs etc. But also we want to recognize some of the individuals in the parishes who have given extensive service over the years. Some of these people are never recognized, and they have just faded away into the woodwork and then the die. So we thought that this year we should find who they are, and bring them forward. So each parish has been invited to select two people form the parishes, give us their names and then they will be given some sort of award, some sort of recognition,” John-Lewis added.
Fringe events will be held in the days leading up to the Feast of Christ the King, with the goal of preparing the Catholic community spiritually for the grand celebration.
One of the fringe events will be held at the Lady of Fatima Church in Newtown under the theme ‘Do Whatever He Tells You’.
The other fringe events will be revivals on the seventh of November at Thibaud, the second one on the fourteenth of November in St. Joseph and the final one is on the twenty-first of November in La Plaine.