Filipe Neri Ferrao is new archbishop Auxiliary Bishop Filipe Neri Ferrao was appointed the Archbishop Patriarch for Goa and Daman yesterday (Jan 16). The much-awaited appointed was made public at 4.30 pm by Archbishop Patriarch Rev Raul Gonsalves. The Archbishop-designate will also be the primate of the East and the Patriarch of the East Indies—titles attached to the Archiepiscopal See of Goa.

He will be officially installed at the Se Cathedral at Old Goa at a later date. Filipe Neri Ferrao, who has been appointed as the Archbishop by his Holiness Pope John Paul II, is the 34th Archbishop of Goa and Daman and the seventh Patriarch of the East Indies, since the inception of the Church in Goa in the 16 century. The Archbishop-Designate will now head the entire Catholic community in Goa and Daman, numbering 4,50,130, which includes priests (619) and religious (1,391). After his primary school studies in Aldona, he joined the Seminary of Our Lady, Saligao-Pilerne, for his secondary school studies. He completed his Baccalaureate in Philosophy and Theology at the Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth (Papal Athenaeum) in Pune. After a brilliant academic career, he was ordained priest on October 28, 1979, and Bishop on April 10, 1994, at the Cathedral Church in Old Goa. When Fr Filipe Neri Ferrao was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Goa and Daman in 1994, the entire Catholic community in Aldona was ecstatic, as Aldonkars celebrated the elevation of their son of the soil.

	Goanetters’ Gathering A group of GoaNetters gathered at the Kala Academy campus on January 7 evening, exchanging news, views, etc. Naturally all eyes were on Herman Carneiro, the soft-spoken originator of Goanet. Cecil presented fragrant flowers to Herman as well as to Rene.
The “Goa Day man” celebrated his birthday). He cut the delicious cake and the Netters sang “Happy Birthday” to Rene. There is a small video clip showing some of those gathered at the Kala Academy that day. Check at http://goacom.com/goanow/goanetmeet/goanetmeet.htm

Fontainhas Festival The week-long Fontainhas Festival of the Arts 2004, organised by the Goa Heritage Action Group, was inaugurated at the Phoenix Fountain, Panjim, by the Power Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat, on January 10. The highlight of the festival was the opening up of several houses in the Fontainhas-Mala area, for various artists to display their works. The inaugural function was followed by “Dances of India” and performance by “Just Jazz”.

President accorded warm welcome:
President APJ Abdul Kalam arrived in a special flight on a two-day official visit to the State. He was accorded a warm reception by Governor Kidar Nath Sahani and other dignitaries present at the Navy strip of the Dabolim airport. Later, he was taken in a motorcade to Taj Exotica where he addressed a workshop organised by the Indo-American Organisation on prevention of terrorism with the help of science and technology. President Kalam said that terrorism was hard to contain due to the huge economic gaps between developed and developing nations. He said that both USA and India should find out the root causes of terrorism and take steps. The President of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, has emphasized the need to develop sophisticated technologies for interrogation of terrorists and to access, analyze and unearth the network and overall strategies behind the scene.

Goa: Wedding Hot-Spot
Goa has been recognized as a famed honeymoon spot, but the State is also turning into a hot spot for those wishing to tie the nuptial knot. The takers even include England’s rich and famous. According to the UK edition of “Hindustan Times”, the heiress of one of Britain’s grand aristocratic families, chose a Goan beach paradise for her wedding vows. The 17-year-old Laura Fraser, the niece of the Earl of Warwick, exchanged marriage vows with her Israeli sweetheart (Hed Mayner) at an undisclosed beach resort in Goa.

Kite Carnival Kites like birds and kites like fish, kites like pastry rolls, teddy bear, dragon-fly and kites like, well, just kites. Colourful kites in all shapes and sizes glided across the Miramar skyline as the second three-day International Goa Kite Carnival got underway at Panaji on January 17 afternoon.

A full-day kite-flying on Sunday will culminate with a musical concert where renowned Goan percussionist, Bondo will jam up with other musicians. Mr Ajay Prakash, chief executive of Nomad Travels and Nomad Heritage Trust, the main organizers, said that there were around 18 participants this year from India and abroad. Also present was India’s famed Babu Khan from Jaipur, flying 250 kites on a single line

Goa Sudharop fellowship awards The Goa Sudharop Lifetime Achievement Award was bestowed on 75-year-old ex-Chief Secretary of the UT of Goa Daman & Diu and founder of the Association of Friends of Astronomy, Percival Noronha, at a small function at the Caritas Hall in Panjim yesterday evening.

The recipients of the Goa Sudharop Fellowship 2004 Awards were ex-teacher Govind Parsekar of Mandrem, an activist in organic farming; Ms Serena Mascarenhas an activist supporting friends and relatives of alcoholics; and NGO Nisarga Nature Club. Dr Ligia Giese of the Advisory Board of the Goa Sudharop Community Development Inc USA, founded to help development of Goa and Goans worldwide, gave a brief presentation on "Focus on Women and Child Health Care in Goa". The function, co-ordinated by Olav Menezes, had a delightful ending with Goan traditional folk dances "dekhni" presented by Crosscraft Entertainment group. Parsekar had on display products of his Organic Farm for display at the venue. For a Video clip of the function click here.

Ribandar honours Alfred Rose At a well attended function, Goa’s renowned Konkani singer and all-round artiste the late Alfred Rose, was honoured at the concluding function of the grand centenary celebrations at 7.30 am near Fonduvem Chapel, Ribandar, yesterday evening. Singer Rita Rose received the shawl and award, on behalf of her illustrious husband, from former Tourism Minister and local MLA Ms Victoria Fernandes.

The interesting programme was co-ordinated by Adv Aires Rodrigues. As many as 100 local artistes from Ribandar were felicitated on the occasion. A dinner and dance followed with Ribandar’s band “Purple Rain” in attendance. An informative souvenir was also released at the hands of PWD Minister Ramkrishna Dhavlixkar. Law Minister Francisco D’Souza also spoke on the occasion.