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| Statue of St. Patrick, Pune |
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| Feast schedule at St. Patrick's, Bangalore |
-Brian Mendonca
Today is observed as the anniversary of the death of St. Patrick in Ireland in 461 CE. It is a feast day in the Catholic church.
In Pune the Cathedral of St. Patrick stands tall. It was built to serve the needs of Irish Catholics in the Peshwa army. The initiative came from the Archbishop of Goa who sent a priest to Pune in 1794 on the request of a Portuguese officer who was in the Peshwa army. The current edifice in neo-Gothic style was built in 1850.
In a 360-degree virtual walk-through on the website of the church you can see the elegant interior of the church designed by Goan architect Charles Correa. At the side of the main altar stands a statue of St. Patrick robed in Irish green.
St. Patrick is often depicted with the shamrock - ☘️ a three-leaved clover which he used to explain the Holy Trinity while converting the pagans to Christianity.
It appears above in the celebration schedule of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Bangalore which we visited in 2013.
Four poems of mine are anthologized in Goa: A Garland of Poems - an anthology of Goan verse edited by Rochelle Potkar and transcreated into Irish by Gabriel Rosenstock in 2017.
Meanwhile yesterday, Air India flight 310 from JFK to New Delhi was diverted to Shannon airport in Ireland as a safety precaution. It had been flying for 6 hours and was experiencing vibrations.
For a taste of Ireland you can now step into The Irish House, at Mopa International Airport, Goa. They also have a branch at Vagator, which is under renovation at the moment.
If you are planning to take off for Ireland, look at these gorgeous views of the emerald island taken by a local here 10 Things You Must NOT do in Ireland.
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Updated 18/3/26.
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