By Purushottam Nayak
Daringbadi, Feb 7, 2025: Cardinal Felipe Neri Ferrao, president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), has congratulated the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar for producing 35 martyrs of faith.
The cardinal’s message was read by Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore, newly elected CCBI vice president, at a function to mark the golden jubilee of the only archdiocese in the eastern Indian state of Odisha.
The January 6 function at Our Lady of Holy Rosary Parish, Daringbadi, in Kandhamal district was attended by 22 bishops, 145 priests, 150 nuns and 20,000 Catholics.
“We the bishops of India are delighted to congratulate you on the beatification and canonization of 35 Servants of God. You have unwavering faith in Christ,” said the cardinal’s message.
“We cannot forget the sacrifice of the people of your diocese for faith in the anti-Christian violence of 2007-2008. We appreciate you [Divine Word Archbishop] John Barwa [of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar] and your people. Kandhamal has become the land of martyrs now, added the message offering solidarity, affection and closeness to the faithful of the archdiocese.
Archbishop Machado said he was happy to be with “my dear brethren” He congratulated the Catholics of the archdiocese for 50 years of increasing faith. “You have grown in faith and in martyrdom,” he added.
Archbishop Barwa said the occasion where “our faith in Christ is admired internationally” was a proud moment for Kandhamal and the Church in the archdiocese and in India.
In his homily the Odisha archbishop recalled receiving a letter from the Vatican Dicastery for the Cause of Saints on October 2, 2023, to start the process for beatification of Kanteswar Digal and 34 companions.
Archbishop Barwa acknowledged that the Vatican move came on the recommendation of the CCBI and the regional bishops’ council.
Rajendra Digal, son of Kantheswar Digal, said, “The blood of my father in the anti-Christian violence 2008 has not gone in vain. The pain of losing my father diminishes before the glory of declaration of him as a Servant of God.”
The Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, founded by the Congregation of the Missions in 1974, now has 70,000 Catholics in 29 parishes, served by 94 diocesan and 60 religious priests, 150 nuns, 30 Brothers and 410 catechists. As many as 19 women and seven men religious congregations serve the archdiocese.
The diocese has nine formation houses, 24 education institutions, three social and development organizations, 25 hostels for boys and girls, two orphanages, two hospitals, 16 dispensaries, two home for the sick and differently abled, three homes for the aged, seven leprosaria, and one university.
Catholicism was first introduced in the region in the 17th century when it was under the care of the Madras-Mylapore archdiocese.
The Cuttack diocese was part of the diocese of Visakhapatnam in neighboring Andhra Pradesh since 1845. The missionaries of St. Francis de Sales (MSFS) started working in the hilly region of Ganjam and Phulbani and established parishes.
During the First World War (1914-1919), most of the French missionaries returned to their homeland. On January 10, 1922, a group of four priests of the Spanish Vincentian (Congregation of Missions) replaced the Fransalians.
Pope Pius XI on July 18, 1928, raised the Cuttack Mission as a self-governing unit and appointed Vincentian Father Valerian Gumes as its administrator.
In 1937, the mission was elevated as a diocese and a suffragan of the Ranchi Archdiocese and Vincentian Father Florencio Sanz Esperanza, was appointed its first bishop a year later.
On January 24, 1974, the Cuttack Mission was divided into the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar and the Diocese of Berhampur.
Father Henry D’Souza was its first archbishop until 1984 when he was transferred to Calcutta. Divine Word Father Raphael Cheenath succeeded him as the archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar. After his retirement in 2001, Archbishop Barwa took over.
The archdiocese comprises the civil districts of Boudh, Cuttack, Kandhamal, Kendrapara, Khurda, Jagasingpur, Jajpur, Nayagarh and Puri.