Around a thousand people, including children, gathered at  the 106-year-old St Mary’s Cathedral on Purulia Road, Ranchi, early on Sunday morning, to attend the thanksgiving mass led by Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo to celebrate the end of the Year of Consecrated Life.

Priests, nuns and brothers belonging to various congregations lit candles and sang hymns on the occasion. 
The Year of Consecrated Life was declared by Pope Francis to “wake up the world” to the contributions of the people leading a consecrated life. The Year of Consecrated Life is an occasion to say thank you not only to god but to all those who have said ‘yes’ to god’s call. 

The year began on November 29, 2014, and is scheduled to conclude with a Mass at the Vatican led by the pontiff on Tuesday. 

Pope Saint John Paul II instituted the World Day for Consecrated Life in 1997 as a day of prayer for women and men living a consecrated life. 

“Hundreds of men and women, who have voluntarily opted to lead a life of celibacy and lead a consecrated life are the chosen ones, who reflect the light of Jesus. These brave men and women have renounced worldly pleasures to respond to god’s call to serve the people not only belonging to the Christian faith but other faiths and religions as well,” cardinal Toppo told the gathering.

“Consecrated persons are remembered to show everyone that there is a different, better, more radical and joy-filled way of thinking, acting and living,” the cardinal stressed.

The cardinal also thanked the people for their contribution to the archdiocese in fields from education to healthcare and urged them to uphold the teachings of Christ for transformation of society in the present trying times.

Those present on the occasion included Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, auxiliary Bishop to Cardinal Toppo, Mary Linda Vaughan, Superior General of St Anne and Alex Ekka , director of XISS, Ranchi, among others.