An innovative parish level crib contest by Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) – Away in a Manger – saw parishes from across India showcase their creative talents at crib making. They event brought to fore great competitive skills in crib making at a national scale.
1st Place – St. Francis Church, Hathras, Agra Diocese
And the winners were: St. Francis Church, Hathras belonging Agra Diocese of Uttar Pradesh; Holy Cross Church – Manjotti at Belthangady of Mangalore Diocese, Karnataka and St. Pius X Church of Mumbai Archdiocese, Maharashtra bagged top honours in the CBCI – National Parish Level Crib Contest. They scored 89, 79.5 & 78 points, respectively.
1st Place – Rs. 10,000 and a memento
St. Francis Church of Uttar Pradesh – Agra Diocese
2nd Place – Rs. 7,500 and a memento
Holy Cross Church Manjottie, Mangalore Diocese
3rd Place – Rs 5,000 and a memento
St. Pius X Church, Mumbai Archdiocese
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While parishes from across the country participated, many churches from different denominations showed interest in participating and innumerable individuals too wanted to participate.
2nd – Place – Holy Cross Church – Manjottie, Mangalore Diocese
Some of the entries were truly an eye-opener; the talent, creativity, innovativeness abounded. The selection panel met last week and went through the submissions ranked the top eight from the participating parishes based on the judging criteria – Theme, Originality, Materials used, Creativity and Overall Presentation.
The panel comprised an architect Kathey John, Designer Annie Monisha, Independent observer Vidhya V S, Indian Catholic Matters was represented by its editor Verghese V Joseph and the panel was chaired by Rev. Fr. John Solomon, Parish Priest, Resurrection Church, Bangalore.
Consolation Prize Winners will get Rs. 1,000 and a memento each:
1. Sacred Heart Church, Andheri East, Mumbai Archdiocese
2. All Saints’ Church, Faridabad, Haryana, Archdiocese of Delhi
3. Sahaya Annai Church, Sivagangai, Tamil Nadu – Diocese of Sivagangai
4. Our Lady of Succour and Good Success, Nago-Salcette Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, Goa
5. Assumption church, Mithapur, Gujarat – Rajkot Diocese
Agra Diocese’s St. Francis Church bagged to slot for its landscaped crib that reflected the beauty of God’s creation, palatial houses signifying the progress of society and the various portraits of people in occupations revealing the emphasis of God’s justice to the people of all peoples irrespective of caste or creed.
Mangalore Diocese’s Holy Cross Church Manjottie, Belthangady which is a new parish erected and inaugurated on May 18, 2018 took the second place for its innovative crib on the road side in front of the church. The making of crib was inspired by the encyclical “Laudato Si” by Pope Francis.
The third place went to the Mumbai Archdiocese’s St Pius X Church, Mulund West that dwelt on the theme of welcoming the birth of Lord Jesus into the world that stands in need of greater concern and care for creation.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India Secretary General Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas thanked all the participants in a special way including Indian Catholic Matters which conceived and executed this initiative.