Patna: Bihar has exempted sacramental wine from the blanket ban on sale and consumption of liquor imposed in the eastern Indian state

The sacramental wine is used for Mass, the highest form Catholic worship that commemorates Christ’s passion on death on the cross.

Bihar’s 130,000 Christians expressed apprehensions after the government imposed the ban on April 5. “Sacramental wine for religious purposes has been permitted,” state Xxcise Commissioner Kunwar Jang Bahadur told The Times of India a day after the ban.

Jesuit Archbishop William D’Souza of Patna, who heads the Catholic Church in the state, Christians were granted “special permission for offering sacramental wine in Christian religious ceremonies and it’s difficult to recall for how long we’ve had the permission.”

The prelate said he would consult other bishops in case of any objections.

For Christians, wine is an integral part of Mass, a sacrament established by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper. “As per the Canon Law, wine symbolizes the blood of Christ and is an essential for the validity of the Eucharist. Only grape wine or fresh grape juice can be used for this purpose,” said Fr Johnson Kelakath, parish priest of the Queen of the Apostles Church, Kurji, a suburb of Patna.

During Mass, priests pray for consecration of the wine and bread, which symbolizes body of Christ. This is then distributed among the believers.

Father Kelakath said the alcohol content in sacramental wine is very low and only 10-15 ml wine is used during each prayer service.

He said the sacramental wine is prepared at Digha, another Patna suburb where the Jesuits had their novitiate, the initial training period. The Church has a special license for preparing the wine. The priest said the Xavier Teachers Training Institute as the Jesuit novitiate was then known, started preparing sacramental wine in late 1950s.

Priests said sacramental wine is not banned in Gujarat or other states where liquor is prohibited. “Even in 1979-1980, when prohibition was enforced in Bihar, sacramental wine was exempted from it,” Fr Kelakath added.