Visit India is one of my dreams when I was a little boy. Last June, my dream came true. I spent one month in Chennai city with my confreres to prepare for our perpetual vows. During the last month, I had the opportunity to visit many places, meet different people, and learn about the culture and heritage of India. Everything here is completely different from my country, Vietnam. The people, the food, and the culture are the things that made me fall in love with India. All those things are what made my four weeks in Chennai an unforgettable experience. I would like to share some points that impressed me the most.

A Unique Culture

Indian culture and traditions are something very diverse and unique. There are many aspects that make India unique. Indian women always dressed up in colorful saris at home or in public. Men’s clothing is also uniquely designed. Food is another part of the culture in India. I ate many of delicious food in Chennai. Spices and herbs are used a lot in dishes. Almost every province is known for its signature dish. During my stay in India, I realized how religion plays an important role in food. Hindus do not eat beef. Muslims in India can eat beef, lamb, and poultry but not pork. Christians can eat all kinds of meat and poultry. In general, Indians do not eat meat very often. Vegetarianism has become the diet of most families. Eating with your hands is also a unique feature of Indian culture. Traditionally, eaten with fingers of the right hand, specifically the left hand is only for pouring the curries onto rice and to grasp water glass. One must wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before eating. I ate with my hands during my stay here. I have also noticed that we tend to eat more slowly when we eat with our hands, and this is good for digestion. Another feature in Indian culture is “the holy cow”. The cow is considered to be an animal sacred in the Hindu religion. Killing the cow or consuming cow meat is considered to be a sin. I was really amazed when I saw so many roaming cows among the people on the streets. They gather at garbage dumps to find food. On the other hand, they have obstructed traffic as well as polluting the environment.

A Growing Catholic Church

Currently, India has become the most populous nation in the world, with more than 1.4 billion people. However, Catholics in India make up only a very small number (about 20 million Catholics). The Church is divided into three rites: Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara, and the Latin rite. According to tradition, the apostle Thomas went to India to preach the Good News. During my time in Chennai, I had the opportunity to visit many churches. I realized that Indian Catholics practice their faith with great devotion and reverence. Churches are always full of people attending Mass on Sundays. Besides, Festivals and Shrines play a very important role in the practice of the faith of Indian Catholics. One of the most famous pilgrimage sites for Indian Catholics is the Shrine of Our Lady of Velankanni, where Mary is said to have appeared twice in the 16th century. This shrine attracts millions of visitors each year. Catholic devotion to the Mother of Velankanni is strong, and her image can be seen in every home and on vehicles throughout southern India. Remarkably, there are many Hindus and Muslims who also make pilgrimages to Valankani. Moreover, many young Indians are accepting God’s call to the priesthood and religious life. I also met many many seminarians and religious brothers and sisters in Chennai. They are faith-filled and joyful. Furthermore, social and charitable institutions, such as orphanages, schools for children with disabilities, and homes for the elderly, are run by Catholic organizations. In many ways, Indian Catholicism is thriving.

The Spiritians’ heritage

As a young member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit. I have always been proud of the contributions of the spiritians ancestors to the work of evangelization. During this trip to India, I had the opportunity to visit Our Lady of Angels parish in Pondicherry. This is the parish where Spiritans served for many years in the 18th century. The church is still very beautiful. The parish priest gave us a brief overview of the formation of the parish as well as the contributions of the congregation of the Holy Spirit. The Spiritians left an indelible mark on this land. The names of the Spritians who served at the parish are solemnly inscribed on a plaque in the parish’s pastoral house. We also attended the morning mass at this church. When I came here, I felt proud and happy. Besides we also visited the tomb where the deceased members of the congregation were buried. A very simple tomb. As I stood in prayer at their graves, I recognized in them the example of true missionaries who totally devoted themselves to bringing the Gospel to the end of the earth. Their missionary zeal is the inspiration for my vocation.

A Spiritians Fraternal Life

From the first day we arrived in India, we received a warm welcome from the members of the Spiritians community in Chennai (three brothers and two priests). We also met two confreres from the province of Tanzania who also came here for medical treatment. We all lived together in fraternal. We shared food together, worked together, played sports together…etc. I had many opportunities to talk with Indian brothers. So I can know more about their vocation journey and their situation. They also taught me a lot about Indian culture and customs. Although we only lived together for a month, we became very close friends. After returning to Manila, I missed them so much. The Superior of the community also helped us a lot. He was also the one who planned and arranged everything for our Perpetual Vows celebration. I am grateful to them. I will always remember the memories of the community in Chennai.

India is a wonderful country. For one month here, I learned a lot about the people, history, and culture of India. I was also extremely impressed with their hospitality.  I would like to end my sharing with a sentence that my superior said many times during this trip, “Incredible India!”. I hope that I will return to visit this beautiful one day.
Br.  Peter Phạm Thành Tâm CSSp(Manila, Philippines)

By Francesca Merlo

Addressing members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, also known as Spiritans, Pope Francis described their charism like the hand of God, who “caresses the people, caresses each one of you: the tender God who always caresses.”

The Holy Father emphasised, in particular, some of the fundamental values of the religious order’s charism: “courage, openness and abandonment to the action of the Spirit so that He might do a new thing.”

The audience took place to mark the 175th anniversary of the re-foundation of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, which joined the original order with the Society of the Sacred Heart of Mary, in 1848.

First foundation

Pope Francis went on to note that these values were already evident in the story of the order’s first foundation. The Spiritan’s founder, then a young deacon, along with twelve seminary companions, driven by the Spirit, courageously embarked on an unexpected adventure.

Fr. Claude-François Poullart des Places “renounced the prospect of a tranquil future – he could have been merely a good priest from a wealthy family – for a mission yet to be discovered, exposing himself to sacrifices, misunderstandings and opposition, with a very fragile health that led him to an early death, before he could fully see his dream crowned,” explained the Pope.

Pope Francis noted that through many unforeseen events, docility to the action of the Spirit transformed his life into a series of “courageous assents, through which God started something new in him, and through him in others as well.”

Second foundation

The Pope spoke then about the second foundation of the congregation, in 1848. He said the Holy Spirit “asked the community to share all the fruits of its past in a new scenario.”

This was a time, he said, of joining with new companions: those of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Mary, who were also missionaries but who had a different history.

“To do this,” said the Pope, “it was certainly necessary to overcome fears and jealousies, and the brothers of the two families accept the challenge, joining forces and sharing what they had for a new beginning.”

Faithful to their origins

Pope Francis stressed that with this rich history, spread over more 175 years, today, “we see that Providence has rewarded their generous and courageous docility to the Spirit: you are present in sixty countries on five continents, with some 2,600 religious and the involvement of many lay people.”

The order has grown, the Pope noted, because its members have always stayed faithful to the spirit of their origins: “evangelising the poor, accepting missions where no one else wants to go, favouring service to the most abandoned, respecting peoples and cultures, forming local clergy and laity for integral human development, all in fraternity and simplicity of life and in assiduity of prayer.”

“Your charism, open and respectful, is particularly precious today,” he said, “in a world where the challenge of interculturality and inclusion is alive and urgent, within the Church and outside it.”

Perserverance

Bringing his address to a close, Pope Francis urged each person present not to give up their courage and inner freedom, but rather to cultivate it and make it a feature of their apostolate.

“This”, the Pope concluded, “was the great intuition of your founders and the beautiful testimony of so many brothers and sisters who have gone before you. And this is also the wish and the invitation I address to you today.”