Holy Family Hospital,under the management of the Delhi Archdiocese,will soon have a medical and a law college. The announcement was made at the closing ceremony of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Archdiocese by Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana,Apostolic Nuncio to India. The feasibility study for both institutions are over we are about to seek the requisite permissions and licences. The law college will be at Najafgarh. Holy Family,on the other hand,already has the 300 beds that a medical college must have, Archdiocese spokesman Dominic Emmanuel SVD said. At the grounds of the St Columbas School,where the celebrations took place,the Archdiocese sent out a strong message of inclusiveness celebrating its association with people from all walks of life. The offertory procession during the High Mass saw people representing 24 states walking up to Archbishop Quintana with gifts unique to their respective state. Susanto Kumar,who represented Orissa,offered Peace and Justice,a book on Kandhamal. The Archdiocese offered prayers for the reservation of Dalit Christians,as well as the President and Prime Minister during the mass,celebrated by Delhi Archbishop Vincent Concessao and Auxiliary Bishop Franco Mulakkal,along with 300 priests. Union Minister for Labour and Employment Oscar Fernandes,and Member of Parliament from Kottayam Jose K Mani were among those who attended the mass. During his sermon during the Mass,Archbishop Quintana spoke of how the Delhi Archdiocese,created as a result of the bifurcation of the Delhi-Shimla Archdiocese on June 4,1959,had grown phenomenally. We have grown from 10 parishes then to 81 now; 50,000 then to 1,20,000 members now; and 12 priests to 108 now, he said. Christ will remain with us till the end of time, he prayed. He asked the assembly to Make the light of Christ shine in all corners. The Archdiocese operates 70 schools,five hospitals,10 orphanages,12 homes for homeless children,eight centres for physically and mentally disabled children,nine homes for leprosy patients and the old,and 20 working womens hostels. An inter-religious prayer service and civic reception followed the mass. The latter was attended by veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani and Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs Salman Khursheed.
