Lourdes in Andhra Pradesh is a pilgrimage destination for hundreds of thousands of faithful. The bishop of Vijaiawada Msgr. Raja Rao: «Mary here is blessed even by those who are not Christians». The superior general of PIME, Father Brambillasca: «May it be a place where missionary vocations continue to arise for the whole world»
In the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh a large crowd participated this morning in the Eucharistic liturgy for the centenary of Mary Matha shrine in Gunadala, in the diocese of Vijiawada. Presiding over the solemn liturgy – the heart of three days of celebrations – was the apostolic nuncio to India, Msgr. Leopoldo Girelli, alongside the diocesan bishop Msgr. Thelagathoti Joseph Raja Rao and p. Ferruccio Brambillasca, superior general of the PIME missionaries, to whom we owe the birth of this place which has entered the hearts of the Indian faithful.
As recalled by Msgr. Raja Rao at the beginning of the celebration, was in fact Fr. Paolo Arlati to bring to this hill in 1924 a statue of the Madonna of Lourdes that arrived with him from Italy: placed in a niche it accompanied the flowering of this local Church with its graces. «The work started by those missionaries is now carried forward by the new generations of Christians whom they baptized – explained the bishop of Vijayawada -. The Gospel has borne fruit: together with Eluru, our sister diocese, we form a community of 700 thousand Catholics”.
Monsignor Raja Rao spoke of a real “cultural revolution” that devotion to the Virgin has brought to this area. “People come to Jesus through Mary’s maternal intercession: she comes here to invoke her graces, asking for healing, the gift of children, work and many other gifts. And the sanctuary is a place that brings together faithful of every religion, because Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is also blessed by non-Catholics and non-Christians. Mary Matha is a center of evangelization and a point of unity between all religions.”
Even the nuncio Msgr. Girelli wanted to thank the missionaries and nuns of PIME “for the role they play in this local Church”. “We venerate the Lord Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer, because it is he who heals us – he recalled -. But we also look at Mary as Co-Redemptrix, with her care for those who are sick, but also for those who are in pain.”
For his part, the superior general of PIME wanted to express the institute’s joy for this anniversary through a message entrusted to the diocese of Vijawada: “Building a Marian sanctuary means first of all entrusting the work of evangelization to Mary – he explained – , but at the same time it also means thinking of a place of prayer where everyone, without exception, can entrust their worries, desires and prayers to God, through Mary our mother”.
“I hope that this Marian sanctuary of Gunadala – he concluded – continues to be a place of prayer, and even 100 years after its birth, it can continue to spread that missionary spirit that our first missionaries witnessed in this Indian land. Furthermore, may it be a place where missionary vocations continue to be born for the whole world, as it was for Mary, who gave her Son to the whole world. May Mary, Star of Evangelization and Queen of the Apostles, protect all those who come to pray at this sanctuary of Gunadala, and give them joy, peace, serenity and unity.”