By Jessy Joseph
New Delhi, Oct 8, 2021: An Indian prelate is out to gain some sheep smell.
Archbishop Kuriakose Bharanikulangara of Faridabad says his ten-day stay in a parish has brought him closer to his people and helped him understand their issues better.
The members of St Francis of Assisi parish in Dilshad Garden say the prelate’s pastoral visit has dispelled their notions about priests and bishops and helped them appreciate their spiritual leaders.
“These days we hear comments that the shepherds do not know the sheep as bishops and priests have drifted from their people. The gap between the two groups keeps widening,” Archbishop Bharanikulangara told Matters India October 8.
The prelate was in the parish from September 27 to October 6. The archbishop visited all family units in the parish accompanied by the parish priest and assistant parish priest. Two Sacred Heart nuns serving the parish also accompanied them.
Bishops often meet people in the parish, but during pastoral visits they meet them in their homes whatever the dwelling, the archbishop explained.
“Some families live in narrow lanes where no vehicle can pass, but walked to reach them. Some live on the top floor of four-story building and one has to climb many steps to reach them. But it is an exciting experience,” said the archbishop, a former Vatican diplomat.
This was the prelate’s first pastoral visit to the Dilshad Garden, one of the largest parishes in the diocese. He had visited the parish several times for official functions.
Pastoral visit is an “opportunity to know where do our people live and show my communion with them,” the prelate explained.
The visit also helped him understand “the living condition of my priests,” as he stayed in the priests’ residence.
Parish priest Father Martin Palamattom said the archbishop’s visit has brought a “sense of enthusiasm and fervor among the faithful. The visit has encouraged us during this period of pandemic.”
The parish has lost seven members to Covid-19 and Archbishop Bharanikulangara met the surviving family members of the victims.
He addressed various associations in the parish, youth, catechism teachers, students, choir, altar boys and visited 28 family units. All families gathered in one house in the unit to meet the prelate.
Some 500 people attended a concelebrated Mass and cultural programs October 3 in the Mother Teresa Convent hall.
“A festive mood has returned to the parish with the archbishop’s visit,” said Mary John, a member of the pastoral council.
She told Matters India that the Covid – 19 pandemic had dampened “our enthusiasm and restricted our social gathering for the past 19 months, the archbishop’s visit has helped restore our enthusiasm to serve the Church and society more actively.”
The archbishop also visited the Latin and Malankara churches in the area and convents and institutions belonging to them. He also met the Jacobite, Orthodox, Marthoma priests in the area.
The parish prepared the pastoral visit through a ‘home mission’ program by the Holy Family sisters. The nuns visited every family and prayed with them during the Sept. 9-22 program.
The nuns provided counseling to the needy. The parish also organized spiritual retreat Sept. 22 -26, a retreat conducted by the Sehion team from Kerala, southern India.
The parish has some 1600 Catholics in 420 families.
“The entire parish community has gone through a spiritual renewal,” Father Palamattom claimed.
The archbishop’s visit is an “unforgettable event and will always cherish the moments he has spent with us,” said Jolly Shaju, president of Mathruvedhi (Mothers’ Association). “His simplicity is model for us,” she told Matters India.
The parishioners are Syro Malabar Catholics, who are migrants from Kerala. They began settling in Dilshad Garden area from 1984. In 2005, Dilshad Garden was one of the nine personal parishes the Delhi archdiocese created for the Oriental Catholics.