By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi, August 17, 2019: The “centenary flag” of All India Catholic Union (AICU) received an enthusiastic welcome when it reached the national capital on August 17 after having travelled length and breadth of India.
Archbishop Anil J.T Couto of Delhi received the flag at New Delhi’s Sacred Heart Cathedral, in the presence of an enthusiastic crowd of Catholics from various parishes of the National Capital Region.
AICU secretary general A Chinnappan, accompanied by national coordinators for legal and minority affairs Advocate Jenis Francis and A C Michael, former member of the Delhi Minority Commission, handed over the historic flag to Archbishop Couto heralding the commemoration of the centenary celebrations in New Delhi from August 23 to 25.
The flag will be taken to four parishes in the archdiocese before the celebrations start.
AICU, founded in Madras in 1919, is said to be Asia’s largest Catholic lay persons’ organization representing 20 million Catholics in India. It is the only officially recognized laity national body of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, the apex body of the Catholic Church in India.
The AICU flag was taken around the country to educate the faithful about their role in the Church’s proper functioning. Another reason was to make people aware of the true meaning of AICU and its objectives of reaching out to the most neglected children of society to make them aware of their rights and duties.
The flag’s journey started on August 19, 2018, at the AICU’s annual general meeting held at Vailankanni in Tamil Nadu. The flag covered most states. Church authorities everywhere received the flag with great respect and people gave tremendous support and overwhelming response.
The flag touched peak of Ladakh too, which recently attained the Union Territory status.
As a part of centenary celebrations five Catholics from different states of India were awarded AICU Centenary Award on the eve of 73rd Independence of the country in Mangalore for their outstanding contributions in the fields of media, environment, public affairs, sports and social activism in the development of the country.