By Matters India Reporter
Vijayawada, June 21, 2020: A Marian shrine in southern India has fostered communal harmony and provided hope for millions, including childless couples, for the past 95 years.
But for nearly four months, the Gunadala Mary Matha church near Vijayawada city has remained out of bounds for devotees because of the nationwide lockdown. It remains shut even after the government allowed reopening of places of worship as it falls in a containment and red zone.
Bishop Telagathoti Raja Rao of Vijayawada says, except the few located in red and containment zones, the diocese has opened all 863 churches in Krishna district.
“Services have resumed in about 800 shrines as per Covid-19 protocol. However, the churches in containment and red zones have not been opened and public are requested not to visit such shrines,” the prelate explained.
All these churches and shrines were closed even before India went into a nationwide lockdown from the midnight of March 24.
After the government allowed reopening of places of worship in Andhra Pradesh from June 8, many churches opened with necessary precautions.
But the Marian shrine authorities have requested pilgrims to stay away as the pandemic situation has worsened in its locality.
Thousands from various parts of the undivided Andhra Pradesh and neighboring states used to visit the shrine located atop a 215-meter hill in Gunadala village to seek the blessings of Mother Mary.
Shrine rector Father Eleti William Jayaraju said the church was kept closed as a precautionary measure and the instructions of the government, the district collector and municipal authorities.
“We are offering services online and through different television channels. Those who want to perform prayers and take blessings of Mary can watch the channels. Prayers are being performed for the well-being of society and global peace,” the priest told The Hindu.
Vicar-General Father Muvvala Prasad says even those churches that are now open allow only a limited number of people for prayers after taking steps to sanitize the premises regularly.
“Instructions have been given to the people not to bring aged persons and those suffering from fever, cough and other symptoms to churches,” he explained.
The church managements were instructed to provide sanitizers, hand washers and masks. No ‘prasadams’ and ‘teerthams’ were being offered at the shrines and no celebrations were allowed, the bishop said.
“The churches in the red zones will not be reopened until further orders by the government,” he added.
The shrine is named after Our Lady of Lourdes and its annual feast falls on February 11 when nearly 1 million pilgrims come to seek Mary’s blessings.
The shrine’s main attraction is a 5.5-meter tall statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, which was brought from Italy in 1951. Halfway to the hilltop shrine, which was started in 1925 by Italian Father Paulo Arlati, is a grotto.
The shrine authorities claim it has helped local Catholics maintain good relations with people of other religions. Offerings from pilgrims have been the parish´s main source of income.
Pilgrims visit the shrine throughout the year. Some 10,000 devotees, mostly Hindus, visit on Sundays. The shrine´s reputation as a refuge for the childless also attracts people.
Some tie cloth cradles to trees around the shrine to seek Mary´s blessing for a child. The shrine allows tonsuring, the ritual shaving of heads practiced in some Hindu temples in southern India.