About Father
Ordination day May 3, 1999
January 2019 (2 months before leaving US)
Death Day August 27, 2019
Fr Marianna will forever remain a Saint to our family and many others. His words “I must be obedient to the bishop”, “I will live until I die”, and “nothing happens without the will of God” ring in our ears and are the cornerstones of his character and faith. Imitating Christ’s humility, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of his death.
Through his suffering he praised God and never complained; he loved preaching God’s word, his rosary, and the chaplet. He had a gentle spirit and would introduce us to the Indian culture through FOOD and movies of love, song, music, and heroes; where men were courageous and protected the weak. He loved Paul and would quote chapter and verse in response to questions or while giving us our daily teachings; he loved to educate us on God’s word, whether at the dinner table or relaxing in our living room.
As a man, he taught me how to be brave in living a Godly life, even thru pain and suffering; he taught me not be afraid and to live until I die. As a woman, he taught my Diane to be a prayer warrior, to do a daily rosary (many times more than once) and like father, she loves the chaplet. Father shared with Diane, that his father would say “You can go to bed without eating but you can’t go to bed without saying your rosary.”
Meaning behind his name:
When Fr Marianna’s parents were having a hard time conceiving a child, they visited a nearby shrine where they prayed for our Lady’s intercession and consecrated the child that would come to her. When he was born, they named him Lurdu, after our Lady of Lourdes, and Marianna for Mary and the mother of Mary (Anna). When he was 17 years old, he was approached by a seminarian and asked if he would consider going in for discernment upon learning about his parent’s story and the origin of his name. He went for discernment and after his first break back home he knew that’s where he was supposed to be. He would be in seminary for 12 years and celebrated his 20th year anniversary of his ordination on May 3rd 2019 – while he suffered in the hospital.