Mumbai, Sep 12: Senior BJP leader L K Advani went down memory lane during his visit to the Mount Mary Church in suburban Bandra here today, recalling his association with the Catholic community as a student in a Karachi school.
“Coming here is a very fortunate moment for me. I have had a very close association with the Catholic community since my school days. I was born and educated in Karachi and my school St. Patrick's was run by Christian brothers,” Advani said.
St. Patrick's school was also the alma mater of several Pakistani leaders, including the likes of Pervez Musharraf, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari, he told reporters here after offering prayers at the Mount Mary shrine.
The octogenarian leader said he visited the shrine at the insistence of city unit BJP leaders Ashish Shelar and Shaina N C.
They told me that the Mount Mary festival attracts devotees from all faiths, he said adding that he was happy to take the blessings of Mother Mary.
The Church's Vice-Rector Aniceto Pereira said Advani showed a lot of devotion and offered a garland and two candles to Mother Mary.
He also showed a lot of respect to our religion and the shrine, he said.
Advani was presented three books - History of Mount Mary shrine by Father Francis Correia, a copy of the Holy Bible and the Divine Harmony, a comparison of Vedas and Bible, he added. PTI
