The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Loyola College to celebrate five events

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 03, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Loyola College to celebrate five events

Staff Reporter

Including platinum jubilee of Loyola College Church

Chennai: Loyola College will host a grand celebration on December 3 to mark the anniversaries of five historic events. The celebration will commemorate the 450th death anniversary of St. Ignatius (founder of the Jesuit order), the 500th birth anniversary of St. Francis Xavier (Apostle and patron of missions), the 500th birth anniversary of Peter Faber (first companion of St. Ignatius), the 400th year of foundation of Madura Mission and the platinum jubilee of Loyola College Church.

The occasion is extra special for the college as the restoration of the church is nearing completion. A blessing ceremony has been planned at 7.30 a.m. followed by a service at 10 a.m.

"The college has been able to raise about Rs. 60 lakh from 270 friends and donors. The complete restoration is expected to cost a little over Rs. 1 crore," said Alphonse Manickam, Vice-Principal of Loyola College.

The roof and some decorative elements of the church were damaged during the rains last year. Restoration experts M.S. Mathew of IIT Madras and C. Natarajan of NIT, Trichy, had estimated the cost of repairing the roof dome to be Rs. 20 lakh and the replacement of decorative elements to be Rs. 12 lakh. Loyola College is also trying to contact the son the church's builder S.A. Gnanaprakasam Pillai, who constructed it in 1930, to honour the family for their father's contribution.

The church was built in Gothic style and its steeple modelled on the structure of a famous church in France.

Loyola Principal Albert Muthumalai said the college placed importance on serving students from economically-weak and socially-oppressed backgrounds and promoting communal harmony in society.

Rector B. Jeyaraj said that the Jesuit mission has planned a new college for arts and sciences at Senji in Villupuram district to reach out to students from semi-urban and rural areas. Loyola College has also sought approval to start a B.Ed course in Chennai. As part of the jubilee celebrations, a sound and light show on the Jesuit order and mission will be organised at the college at 5 p.m. on Sunday. Ten stages will be put up for the event, which is open to the public. Guests include A.M. Chinnappa, Archbishop of Madras - Mylapore, Electricity Minister Arcot Veerasamy and Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudi.

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