Miao: More than 900 young people attended a three-day convention that launched the tenth anniversary celebrations of Miao diocese in northeastern India.
The diocesan officials have planned a series of events for different groups of people residing in eight eastern districts of Arunachal Pradesh that the diocese covers, says Fr Felix Anthony, secretary to Bishop George Pallipparampil.
The first in the series was the May 27-29 youth convention held at Don Bosco School, Kheti, Tirap District.
Since the anniversary coincides with the Year of Mercy being observed throughout the global Catholic Church the youth convention focused on the same theme.
The highlight of the program was the sharing by Catholic youth leaders on the second day.
Rita Lowang from Luthong village shared her success story and advised the participants to accept and love themselves first. “Youth from our districts lack opportunity and confidence. But you should face the situation and overcome your fear,” said the woman leader, who now heads the Social Work department in the Rajiv Gandhi University based at the state capital of Itanagar.
Nepha Wangsa, a gold medalist in Political Science from Ngissa village of Longding district, told the youth to not drop out of school. “Poverty should never be an excuse for you to drop-out from schooling.”
Narrating his struggles as a member of a poor family, he said, ‘If you have the desire and determination to succeed in life nothing would stop you.”
Another speaker, Wanglit Mongchan, a scholar from Borduria village of Tirap district, said the best “mantra” for success is commitment to succeed combined with a disciplined life and prayer.
L. Wanglet, a former in Arunachal, who addressed the participants, urged them to respect and promote culture in life. Citing the example of Oseola McCarty, an American washerwoman who became a great example for iconic leadership, he exhorted the participants to become leaders even without portfolios.
McCarty, who died in 1999 aged 91, became the University of Southern Mississippi’s most famous benefactor. She drew global attention after it was announced in July 1995 that she had established a trust through which, at her death, a portion of her life’s savings would be left to the university to provide scholarships for deserving students. The amount was estimated at US$150,000, that she saved from her menial occupation.
Bishop Pallipparampil, who envisioned the event, sent blessings to the participants. He said the youth leaders who shared their success stories are examples of the contribution the diocese has made to society in the past ten years. He urged the youth to tell themselves often, “I can, I will and I must.”
Vican general Father C C Jose, commended the youth for their active participation in such an important event to observe the diocese’s anniversary.
The event ended with cultural dances from all tribes in eastern Arunachal Pradesh.
Miao diocese was established in 2005 with Bishop Pallipparambil, a Salesian, as its first prelate.
Arunachal Pradesh was a forbidden land for Christianity until late 20th century. The state had its first encounter with Christianity in the 19th century when French Missionaries Krick and Bourry entered the land on their way to Tibet. However, they were martyred in Somme Village in Lohit District in 1854.
The arrival of Salesian missionaries in Assam in 1922 marked a new beginning for the Church in northeastern India. They opened religious and educational institutions that gradually introduced people to a new life of faith and development.
Catholic faith was brought to Arunachal Pradesh by young people who studies in colleges in Shillong, capital of Meghalya state, and Assam. Then rector of Don Bosco Shillong, Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil’s contact with Wanglat Lowangcha, a young tribal chief became a turning point in the history of the Church in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Church set up catechetical and educational institutions at Naharkatia and Tinsukia in Assam for the training of catechists and youth leaders of East Arunachal. Salesian Father Job Kallarackal pioneered missionary work in Tirap from Naharkatia parish in Assam. He brought some Noctes and Wanchos to the Catholicism braving many difficulties.
After him, Bishop Pallipparampil, as a young priest contacted the Arunachal Students and officials in Shillong had made him known to many in Arunachal. His first appointment as the rector of Bosco Bible School at Tinsukia, brought him closer to the Arunachal Apostolate. The Bible school trained youth leaders and catechists of Arunachal, who later became lay evangelizers, sowing the seeds of Catholic faith in the forbidden land.
The first Catholic mission along with a school hostel was established at Borduria in 1992. Fr. Pallipparampil became the first resident priest in Arunachal.
In the same year, the Missionaries of Charity opened their convent at Borduria to look after the poor and the needy. On August 2, 1993, Blessed Mother Teresa visited Borduria on the occasion of the consecration of the parish church. That was the saintly nun’s first and only visit to Arunachal Pradesh.
The diocese now covers a43,955 sq.km area divided into Anjaw, Changlang, Dibang Valley, Longding, Lower Dibang Valley, Lohit, and Tirap districts. More than 84,000 of the total 480,120 people in the area are Catholics.
They are spread in 33 parishes and mission stations served by 27 diocesan and 60 religious priests. As many as 125 nuns and 3 religious brothers also serve the diocese. It has 27 primary and six high schools and 15 primary health centers.