A Catholic parish in Mumbai, western India, brought together Small Christian Communities (SCCs) and migrant parishioners for a Thanksgiving Day celebration on Oct 4 that highlighted faith, cultural diversity and care for creation.
The Salvation Green Cell, in collaboration with the SCCs, organized the celebration at Our Lady of Salvation Church in Dadar West, a densely populated neighborhood in central Mumbai known for its long-established Catholic community.
The celebration began before 9:30 a.m. Eucharistic celebration at the Heritage Cross outside the church. Vegetables, fruits, fish, sweets and stalks of paddy rice were arranged as offerings, symbolizing the abundance of creation and God’s blessings received throughout the year.
Parish priest Fr. Michael Pinto led the gathering in prayer and blessed the offerings.
Representatives of the SCCs, dressed in traditional attire, carried the offerings in procession to the altar. Members of the Migrants Group added a distinctive cultural dimension, with women in colorful coordinated saris carrying aarti thalis. Altar servers and priests followed, reflecting the cultural diversity of the parish community.
Fr. Ashwin Castellino presided at the Eucharist and invited the faithful in his homily to recognize God’s presence in the blessings of everyday life and to cultivate a spirit of gratitude.
A special moment came when Fr. Ashwin sang the doxology in Marathi, followed by a traditional aarti led by members of the Migrants Group.
The celebration continued after Mass with fellowship and cultural interaction. Members of the Migrants Group danced to the lively rhythms of the mandar, a traditional drum, and were soon joined by priests and parishioners.
Fruits and sannas, steamed rice cakes popular along India’s western coast, were shared among those present as a gesture of friendship and fellowship.
The celebration also reflected the parish’s effort to foster synodality by bringing together people from different cultural and social backgrounds through shared prayer, participation and community life.
For a parish serving Catholics from diverse backgrounds in one of Asia’s largest and most multicultural cities, the Thanksgiving celebration offered a visible expression of how faith and culture can strengthen community bonds.
It also highlighted the connection between gratitude and care for creation: the fruits of the land and sea were brought before the altar not simply as food, but as reminders of the gifts entrusted to humanity.
The gathering concluded with a renewed sense of community, celebrating both God’s gifts and the people who share them.
(With inputs from: Alfred Nogueira, Salvation Green Cell)
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