By Matters India Reporter
Kharsang: A group of 300 people from a remote corner of Arunachal Pradesh March 13 made a 16-km walking pilgrimage to pray for the release of Jesuit Father Stan Swamy and other human rights activists and for restoration of normalcy in Myanmar.
“Today we have so much to pray for. We pray for all innocents arrested and are languishing in prison on unfounded charges,” said Father Felix Anthony, parish priest of the Sacred Heart Church in Neotan village of Changlang district and the organizer of the event.
Explaining the purpose of the four-hour walk to the participants, Father Anthony said, “We have gathered only for one reason – to pray. We pray specially for Father Stan Swamy, an octogenarian Jesuit priest with Parkinson disease, prominent poet Varvara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Sudha Bharadwaj and many who have worked for the upliftment of the poor in the society.”
The priest also urged the people to pray for poor farmers protesting on the Delhi borders for months against the government’s new farm law regulations and pray for a peaceful solution to the concern of the farmers.
“We also hold the people of Myanmar in our prayers. The people of our neighboring country are going through turmoil against the military coup,” Father Anthony said.
The walk began from a local market in Kharsang at 5:30am and went through villages praying the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplets and reached Rajanagar in Bordumsa sub-division of the district at 10 am.
The participants were from 10 villages in the district. Two of the villages were adjacent to the strife-torn Myanmar. The youngest pilgrim was 6-year-old and the oldest 60.
Upon reaching the destination, the pilgrims made the Way of the Cross and proceeded to celebrate Mass officiated by Rajanagar parish priest Salesian Father Rajesh Lakra.
“This pilgrimage is a reminder of our life pilgrimage towards God,” said Junem Langching, a youth leader. “Making this pilgrimage on the anniversary of Pope Francis’ election is like icing on the cake. We pray for our dear Papa,” she added.
“It was indeed a deep experience of God’s love”, said Tumen Mossang, a catechist of a substation under the parish.