By Irudhaya Jothi
Aizawl, November 18, 2022: The Catholic Church in Mizoram on November 20 ended the celebration of the 75 years of the presence of priests in the northeastern Indian state with Cardinal Oswald Gracias hailing the Mizo society for setting an example for the rest of the country.
“Your core values of solidarity, concern for the other, community feeling, decision by consensus, kindness, casteless society, and non-discrimination that are the values of Jesus,” the cardinal, who is the archbishop of Bombay and the chief guest, told a public reception.
The public meeting concluded the November 18-20 celebrations. It was preceded by a solemn Mass presided over by the cardinal at the Christ the King Cathedral at Kulikawn, Aizawl, the state capital.
Bishops, priests, nuns and lay people attended the programs.
Holy Cross Bishop Stephen Rotluanga of Aizawl said they organized the three-day celebrations as the event was an “important historical milestone for the Catholic Church in Mizoram.”
On the first day, a seminar was conducted in Mizo at St. Lawrence Parish Hall, Ramthar, Aizawl. Around 200 youth, lay leaders, catechists, priests and religious addressed topic of the Sacrament of Marriage in a question-and-answer format at the seminar.
Missionary of Charity Sister Theophany Malsawmi, one of the participants, said it was good and enriching.
The second day was dedicated to a Charismatic retreat.
Cardinal Gracias said he was “so deeply touched by your core values such as solidarity, concern for the other, community’s feeling, decision by consensus, kindness, castles society, and no discrimination against anyone these are values of Jesus.”
He commended the Mizo Church letting its youth to build on the values. “Women are given equal rights and the rest of India has much to learn from the Mizo society,” he added.
He observed that the Mizo Church depends on its strong laity. “You need to reflect on how to deepen this participation with leadership, and faith formation, to get into civil, political and social services actively,” the prelate said.
He called for transforming society by implementing the Church’s social teaching.
“You have the advantage over other parts of the country since most Mizos are people of God,” Cardinal Gracias said. He encouraged the Mizo Catholics to work for ecumenism and collective work of transforming society in and through active civil society movements.
In the afternoon of the final day, hundreds of Catholics from various parishes joined the Eucharistic procession to the cathedral, the first church where a priest was permanently housed 75 years ago. Cardinal Gracias and Bishop Rotluanga led the procession.
The Church in Mizoram was founded with the arrival of Holy Cross Fathers George Breen and Gilbert Boucher at Aizawl on April 15, 1947.
According to Sangkima, a college professor who wrote the “History of the Roman Catholic Church in Mizoram,” the church was formed on February 1, 1925, with some people who lived at Tlangnuam, Aizawl.
Priests from Chittagong, which is now in Bangladesh, visited the Mizoram Catholics during 1925-1947 braving objections from the provincial government.
The Church in Mizoram now has 24 parishes engaged in education, evangelization, and ecumenism.
However, the first Christian missionary to enter Mizoram was Reverned William Williams on March 20, 1891. He was a Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Foreign Missionary that was later called the Welsh Presbyterian Foreign Mission.
The Catholic Church’s Aizawl diocese was initially known as the diocese of Silchar. It was made up of the districts of Cachar Hailakandi and Karimganj of Assam state along with Tripura and Mizoram states.
On June 26, 1969, Pope Paul VI raised the Prefecture of Haflong to a diocese headquartered at Silchar and Father Denzil D’Souza as its first bishop.
In December 1983, the northern Cachar Hills district was detached from the Silchar diocese and linked to Diphu, a new diocese.
On February 7, 1996, the entire state of Tripura was cut off from Silchar to form Agartala diocese with Holy Cross Father Lumen Monteiro as its first bishop.
The remaining portion of Silchar diocese comprised the districts of Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj (Barak Valley) of Assam State and the entire Mizoram state.
The diocese of Silchar was renamed Aizawl on February 7, 1996, and its base was transferred from Silchar to Aizawl.
When Bishop Denzil resigned because of ill-health, Bishop Monteiro was appointed its apostolic administrator.
Bishop D’Souza died on October 25, 2002.
Bishop Rotluanga’s episcopal ordination was on February 2, 2002. He is the first Mizo bishop.