By Matters India Reporter

Periyanayagi, April 21, 2020: Kannapiran, a 55-years beggar and a Hindu by birth, never knew, from where he would get his next meal amid the nationwide lockdown imposed due to containing the spread of COVID-19.

“We do not have anything to eat. Since we do not have a residence in a locality, so do not have a ration card to avail the ration supplied from the Government,” he says.

But, on April 20, his face was brightened up when Our Lady of Periyanayagi Shrine (church) at Konankuppam, Tamil Nadu, began to serve free lunch to beggars and senior citizens, who are hungry.

Kannapiran lives nearby at the Shrine with his wife and two kids since pilgrims do not visit the Shrine due to lockdown.

“With free lunch given by Shrine, at least one meal a day saves the life of the family,” he says.
Kannapiran, a Hindu by birth, married a Muslim woman and named his second child as Antony since he was born in a Christian village.

Likewise, Gnanasoundari (70), a widow, lives alone and cooks a little food with the ration given by the Government.

She says, “I eat only one meal a day at night. Having lunch provided by the Shrine is a God-given gift.”

“He would share the lunch with his bed-ridden wife given by the Shrine, ” says Mannangatti (66).

All these three poor and senior citizens from in and around Our Lady of Periyanayagi Shrine, along with the other 20 people have been the beneficiaries of free lunch service, Father Devasagayaraj M Zackarias, parish priest, told Matters India on April 21.

“On April 20, a simple lunch was given to senior citizens who are hungry,” he said.

This service would continue until the lockdowns ends on May 3. We solicit peoples’ generous contribution for the sake of the poor,” he added.

When asked the rationale behind the free lunch for the poor, Father Devasagayaraj, said, the church is a place for all. It is for the poor and with the poor as Pope Francis says. Jesus fed people who came to him.

“We are called to continue his mission. Late Pope John Paul II envisions that the best way to become ambassadors of Easter in our modern world is to become ambassadors of mercy. The Shrine has stepped into action in making the words of Pope John Paul II a reality,” explained the priest.

COVID-19 has annoyed the whole world and it continues to do so. Many countries have been doing marvelous measures s for their citizens. The Church too opened its doors for the poor and the migrants and serving soup kitchens and other charity works.

From the time of the lockdown announced in India, together with the government, many non-governmental organizations have volunteered to help people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with food and other provisions to ease their distress and plight. There are so many initiatives that were taken to help the poor everywhere.

The Church in India always renders its help to people wherever in need, said Father Devasagayaraj, who had earlier served as the national secretary in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, Office for Dalits and Backward Classes for seven years.

Last year, he was appointed as the rector of the 300-year-old Shrine called Our Lady of Periyanayagi (St. Mary Major) in Konankuppam village, Cuddalore district of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry–Cuddalore.

Thousands of people make a pilgrimage to the Shine throughout the year and people contribute food to the needy whenever they visit the Church as an offering or as a sign of gratitude for the favors received by Our Lady of Periya Nayagi.

The poor and elderly people always come to the Church that accommodates the poor and the elderly and feeds them regularly.

But after the announcement of the lockdown of COVID-19, it became a nightmare for the poor especially the elderly who depend on the Shrine and its pilgrims. They are devastated after the lockdown was imposed, said Father Devasagayraj.

“Though the Church accommodates people, we need to inspire the faithful to help the needy,” says. Fr. Devasagayaraj.

He posted on Facebook on April 19, seeking help to set the soup kitchen in the Shrine so that the poor and the elderly can be fed.

“I immediately got help from people for setting up the soup kitchen and we started it on April 20,” he said.

The priest further said, “We would not wait for others to respond to the needs of the poor instead we have to take the action urgently.”

According to him, lunch is served to senior citizens and people who are poor following the norms of personal distancing.

“We are happy and thank God for the meal provided by the priests of the Shrine. I thought I would go hungry in this lockdown period since I have no other means of food. I was perplexed about the lockdown as I have no other places to go for food,” Mrs. Regina, one of the elderly women who stay near the Church, told Matters India.

Regina, a daily laborer, and her other members could not go out for work after the lockdown was announced. Her children are at home and the family did not have money to feed their children three times a meal.

“So we skipped breakfast and could cook lunch and dinner together. We thank Father Devasagaya Raj for providing us breakfast and some monetary help,” she added.

“We thank God for fulfilling our needs,” says Murugan, who lives in a nearby village.
Some villagers and donors have praised the efforts of Father Devasagayaraj.

“When I opened my Whatsapp a week ago and found a picture of a priest with mask offering the Holy Eucharist to a faithful on the street of a remote village called Konankuppam, perhaps for a moment, I visualized of the Church being brought to the street to honor the faith of the parishioners of Peryanayagi Shrine,” said Mr. Kennedy from Bangalore.

This act of propagating faith was not unique but also unheard of.

After a week Kennedy was again surprised to see a picture posted of a priest from the same parish serving a modest lunch to the needy, thus quenching both spiritual and physical needs. This is what happens when people of faith open their hearts to be filled with the spirit of the Risen Jesus, their minds get tickled with new ideas with greater zeal, says Kennedy.

Kennedy and others appreciate the good work of Father Devasagayaraj and Father Kulandainathan, the regional secretary for the Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council, Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

“Father Devasagayaraj has taken this step to feed the senior citizens. He has become the voice of Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis,” said Kennedy.

“We need more and more priests, religious and the lay faithful to help the poor and the needy especially in this lockdown period and to experience the Easter joy and to imitate the first Christians mentioned in Acts of the Apostles in the Bible,” he said.

When Bosco, a donor, saw the picture of the food distribution to the poor senior citizens on Facebook, immediately he sent rupees 10000 for this purpose.

He is caught up in Pune for the past month because of the national lockdown. When he saw the picture on social media, he shed tears because he was longing for good food when he was a young boy though he is a businessman now.