By Lalita Roshni Lakra
Sargaon, April 23, 2023: Hundreds of people on April 23 flocked to a remote village in eastern India to participate in the first pilgrimage that commemorated the 62nd death anniversary of the first Servant of God from the Adivasi community.
Jesuit Archbishop Felix Toppo of Ranchi led the Mass assisted by 75 priests at Sargaon, the birthplace of Sister Mary Bernadette Kispotta, 32 km northwest of Ranchi, capital of Jharkhand state.
The archdiocese of Ranchi organized the pilgrimage to increase devotion and publicity of Sister Kispotta, the founder of the Daughters of St Anne of Ranchi.
Mother Bernadette was declared a Servant of God on August 7, 2016.
The archbishop, in his homily, urged the congregation to observe April 16, the actual death anniversary of the saintly nun, as a day of prayer pilgrimage. He said God works wonders through humans and he did that with Mother Mary Bernadette, as the nun is popularly known.
The archbishop also thanked God for his blessing to Chhotanagpur’s tribal Church, starting with Belgian Jesuit missionary Father Augustus Stockman, who came to Chaibasa from Calcutta on November 24, 1868. His work led to the baptism of 28 people from eight families, including four children, in 1873 at Khuntpani village near Chaibasa.
He was followed by Belgian missionaries Father Constant Lievens and Herman Rasschaert, who laid a strong foundation for the Church in the region. Father Lievens is revered as the Apostle of Chhotanagpur.
“Similarly, God chose Mother Mary Bernadette, a tribal teenage girl, to reveal his love to the people. She had such a deep experience of God that she decided to follow Jesus despite many objections and difficulties,” Archbishop Toppo said. The God experience led her to start a religious congregation for local women, which was not an easy job, he added.
“She did it through the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the pilgrimage is a day of thanksgiving because God has been revealed to so many people through her,” the prelate added.
He also urged the congregation to pray for Daughters of St. Anne that they may do their apostolate according to the same charism and proceed on the path to holiness,” the archbishop said.
People from various parishes in the archdiocese came to Sargaon by auto, bike, cycle or hired buses. One parish brought people in seven buses.
The program started with the reciting of the Rosary prayer. The participants held the banners and photo of Mother Kispotta as they recited the rosary with traditional musical instruments and singing in the tribal languages.
The Mass began with an entrance dance and traditional washing of the hands. The gathering also included more than 1,000 nuns from different congregations.
After the Mass the people paid homage to the Servant of God at the shrine and visited her house. They carried water from the well in the inner courtyard of the house. People believe the water is miraculous and many have been cured from various illnesses.