Rev. Dr. Lawrence D'Souza took over as the new Director of SJNAHS and the Secretary of the CBCI Society for Medical Education on September 1, 2008. Fr. Lawrence will be assisted by a team of executives who have also recently joined the Institution. The new team comprises of -
Rev. Fr. Glen Mascarenhas, Associate Director of Finance.
Rev. Fr. Mathew B. Kattiyangal, Associate Director of SJMC.
Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Raj, Associate Director of SJMCH, and
Rev. Fr. Prakash Sagili, Assistant Associate Director of SJMCH.
The Official Installation Ceremony of the new Director and his new team was held on September 24, 2008, during the CBCI Society for Medical Education's General Body meeting. The President of the General Body, His Eminence Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil presided over the function.
The function began with a Eucharistic celebration, jointly celebrated by the members of the General Body of SJNAHS - comprising of Archbishops and Bishops from various parts of the country. The main celebrants were His Eminence Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil, His Eminence Cardinal Telespore Topo and His Grace Archbishop Abraham Viruthakulangara, Archbishop of Nagpur and member of the Governing Board of SJNAHS.
The Eucharistic celebration was followed by an impressive Public function. The program commenced with the processional entry of the new executives and the dignitaries.
Dr. Mary Ollapally, Chief of Medical Services, SJMCH, addressed the gathering and welcomed the new team of executives, the dignitaries present, the guests, and the staff and students. This was followed by the honoring of the new team of executives of the Academy by Dr. Anura Kurpad, Dean, St. John's Research Institute and Mrs. Madonna Britto, Principal, St. John's College of Nursing.
The all important event of the function and the highlight of the evening - the official installation of the new team was performed by His Grace Archbishop Abraham Viruthakulangara.
Fr. Lawrence then addressed the gathering - His response - a call to the St. John's family for a joint endeavor to translate the vision of this Institution - HE SHALL LIVE BECAUSE OF ME, into reality, and an invitation to all to work with dedication and devotion to make the entire Academy a PATIENT-FRIENDLY and STUDENT-FRIENDLY Institution. Fr. Lawrence thanked all for their good wishes and prayers.
The Presidential Address was made by His Eminence Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil, which was then followed by the Vote of Thanks made by Rev. Fr. Glen Mascarenhas, Associate Director of Finance, SJNAHS.
A Cultural program was organized jointly by the staff and students of SJNAHS. A western dance by the 2007 batch of Medical students - Anusha Bathula & team; a superb song-duet by the 2005 batch Medical students - Dwayne Mascarenhas and Jarvis Pereira; a beautiful classical dance by Dr. Kanishka Das and team; and a choreographic dance by the Staff Nurses - Ms. Honey and team.
The three-hour function ended with the College Anthem sung by the Medical students, followed by the recessional procession.
We wish Fr. Lawrence and his new team of executives - Fr. Glen Mascarenhas, Fr. Mathew Kattiyangal, Fr. Emmanuel Raj and Fr. Prakash Sagili, the very best. Good luck and God bless!
You can see the photos of the ceremony at http://www.stjohns.in/gallery/newteam