St Francis College hosts peace event in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: St. Francis College for Women, Begumpet, hosted “Heal the World – Voices of Peace” on August 14, bringing together students and faculty from Christian educational institutions across Hyderabad for a programme centred on peace, hope and prayers for the nation.
The event was attended by Deepak John, chairman of the Telangana State Christian Finance Corporation and president of the Secunderabad District Congress Committee; Mar Prince Antony Panengadan, metropolitan archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Shamshabad; and Sr. Alphonsa Vattoly, president of St. Francis College for Women.
The programme began with the symbolic lighting of a torch, followed by a procession representing a path towards healing and peace.
College principal calls for young people to become peacemakers
Welcoming the gathering, Prof. T. Uma Joseph, principal of St. Francis College for Women, described the occasion as a landmark day and said she hoped it would develop into a movement that inspires young people to become peacemakers.
She stressed the need for reconciliation, hope and healing, urging young people to look beyond differences, build bridges and carry hope into places of pain and division.
“The world does not need only words about peace, but people who can live in peace, practise peace and become agents of peace,” she said.
Prof. Joseph thanked the management and participating institutions for their support and acknowledged Steven and Youth Alive for helping bring the initiative to fruition. She said she hoped it would inspire a generation to become ambassadors of peace, hope and healing.
Speakers urge students to promote love, non-violence
Deepak John urged young people to become ambassadors of love and non-violence, describing love as an antidote to war.
“Where there is love, there is definitely peace,” he said. He added that “young minds have a responsibility on their shoulders, to talk about and practise love”.
Mar Prince Antony Panengadan praised the students for their cultural performances and the creativity with which they marked the spirit of Independence Day.
He urged the gathering to see peace as more than a passive state and said, “peace begins from within”. He also said, “God is the source of peace”, adding that a closer relationship with God deepens one’s experience of inner peace.
Quoting Telugu poet Gurajada Apparao, “Desham ante matti kadoi, Desham ante manushuloi”, the archbishop referred to the Indian philosophy of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” the idea of the world as one family as a message of peace that India can offer the world.
Students from Reqelford International School, Loyola Academy, St. Pious X Degree & PG College, St. Joseph’s Degree & PG College, St. Ann’s College for Women and St. Francis College for Women presented a series of cultural performances.
The highlight was “Voices of Peace”, featuring more than 350 students in a collective rendition of “Heal the World”. The performance brought together students and faculty from the participating institutions in a shared message of peace, love and hope.
The programme concluded with a pledge led by Prof. Uma Joseph, reinforcing unity and collective responsibility to uphold the diversity of the nation.
