The Archbishop of Calcutta, Rev. Thomas D’Souza, said on Friday evening that any type of hatred or polarisation should disappear in the atmosphere of peace, love, respect and joy that Christmas represents.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Calcutta Christmas Festival at Allen Park in Park Street, where chief minister Mamata Banerjee was present, he said: “The beautifully lit Park Street and other areas of the city and also other districts of our state of West Bengal are an expression of this light, namely, Jesus Christ, who came to drive away the darkness of ignorance, the darkness of sin and selfishness and the darkness of hatred.”

He added: “Christmas is a festival of peace. The first announcement by the angels of the shepherds was ‘Glory to the God in the highest and peace to all people of goodwill’. May this divine peace dwell in the hearts of all of us. May any type of division, selfishness, hatred or polarisation disappear in an atmosphere of peace, love and respect and joy.”

Picture by Pradip Sanyal

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee greets Rev. Linus Gomes, the former Bishop of Baruipur and Dhaka, during a pre-Christmas event at St Xavier’s College (Autonomous) on Park Street on Friday. Also present at the event were (from left) mayor Firhad Hakim, Father Dominic Savio, the principal of St Xavier’s College, and Father Felix Raj, the vice-chancellor of St Xavier’s University.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee speaks at the opening of the Calcutta Christmas Celebration 2018 at Allen Park on Park Street on Friday. The other guests on the stage are (from left) mayor Firhad Hakim, the bishop of the Calcutta Diocese Reverend Probal Kanto Dutta, the Archbishop of Calcutta Rev. Thomas D’Souza, Trinamul Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien, minister for disaster management Javed Khan, home secretary Atri Bhattacharya and the principal secretary of the department of information and cultural affairs Vivek Kumar.

Park Street gears up for the festive season

Pictures by Bishwarup Dutta and Pradip Sanyal