A Sari Road for Palm Sunday

Saris, the traditional robes of Indian women, stretched as far as the eye could see, as Holy Family faithful laid a sari carpet through Yeleswaram for their Palm Sunday procession. 

Just as crowds laid their cloaks in the
road for Jesus,  his people
welcomed Christ by laying
their garments in the road, explained
Fr. Varghese.

Walking three miles from Holy Family Mission to the town of Yeleswaram, and then winding their way through the busy streets, the people held palms, prayed and sang, proclaiming their love of Christ to others in this only 3% Christian region.

Altar boys led the walk along
the sari carpet.

Proclaiming the Gospel via rickshaw
sound system. Fr. Varghese walks
behind as "Persona Christi" -- another
Christ.

Besides the procession, Fr. Varghese celebrated Mass at Holy Family Mission and at Our Lady of Help Mission in the village of Yerravarram. Before he left for Mass in the village, he found his motorcycle tire punctured by a nail. He ran to find a parishioner who could loan him a motorbike to take him to his next mission.

Varghese means "George" and St. George is traditionally depicted slaying a "dragon." Palm Sunday took on a whole new dimension for Fr. Varghese when he had to slay a serpent -- a cobra -- on his mission compound (photos below).

Palm Sunday Mass at Holy Family
Mission.

He says he has killed around 50 poisonous snakes in his lifetime! A girl at the mission saw this ten-foot one (below) slithering into the mission's plantain grove. Fr. went searching for it and parishioners came to help, but found no snake. They finally discovered him in a storage room at the mission.

"I saw the foldings of him under a pot," explains the priest, who positioned villagers with sticks around the room, since there was no telling what the snake might do if provoked. When the pot was removed  the snake was very agressive, "bussing and weaving," says Fr. Varghese. He finally dispatched the creature with a blow to the head.

All in the day of a missionary priest!

The ten-foot cobra Fr. had to battle on his
mission compound.

Welcoming Our Lady of Guadalupe to Yerraverram

Fr. Varghese and his parishioners walked and prayed
for nearly 10 kilometers, from the mother church in
Yeleswaram to Our Lady of Help Mission in
Yerraverram, to bless the new shrine of 
Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Our Lady was fashioned by a local
Hindu statue maker out of a cement/clay
mixture.

"The blessings went on well," wrote Fr. Varghese Kalapurakudy, about the March 9, 2014 completion and blessing of the new shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe for his outpost, Our Lady of Help Church, in Yerraverram.

Parishioners prepared and carried a Pilgrim Virgin
statue in a heavy teak wood "house."

"We started our Papa Parihara Pada Yathra (walk for the atonement of one's own sin and others) at 4 PM," wrote Fr. Varghese. "The small wooden portable house for her (the Blessed Mother) is very heavy. It is made up of teak wood. It weighs 70 kilograms, so four people should carry every 5 minutes. We are walking for the atonement of our sins, and of the world."

Praying and processing to "repair"
the world's sins.

The faithful also prayed for the "well being" of friends in America, said Fr. Varghese. Funds from a family in the U.S. provided for the new five-foot-tall statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Our Lady of Guadalupe Homeschoolers provided the protective grill for the shrine.

The project launched around January 19, 2014, when Fr. Varghese told how his people had "a strong belief and faith that Mother Mary was protecting them from flood during these days, so they decided to build a grotto."

The statue is heavy to carry, but the
faithful felt honored to take turns
carrying this little mobile shrine.

The village of Yerraverram was hit by the worst floodwaters in the area this year, but no parishioners' lives were lost. When their chapel was closed, the people looked through windows at the statue of Our Lady of Help and prayed. They later begged Fr. Varghese for an outdoor grotto so they would have somewhere to pray when crises hit and their chapel is locked (it's closed off-hours to keep out vandals and thieves).

By February, Fr. Varghese reported that "Many are coming forward to help. Even though they are poor, they give their manpower and old materials...moreover, their prayer."

Fr. Varghese unveils the new shrine.

Villagers went door to door to raise funds, and gathered rocks and sand from streams to build the grotto. Fr. Varghese believes this is the first Our Lady of Guadalupe grotto in his Archdiocese of Visakhapatnam. With no precedent, the statue carver used as a model a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe sent to Fr. Varghese by a friend in America. 

While the people got to work on their new grotto, statehood tensions again heated up in their region. Another bill passed, bringing their state of Andhra Pradesh closer to being split in two, with a new state of Telengana formed. Although protests erupted across the region, the faithful pressed on to complete their grotto.

They processed and gathered with special gratitude on March 9, for the grotto blessing.

Power outages, common in India,
added a little challenge to the celebration.

"We reached (the church) by 6 PM and it was late, dark already fallen," said Fr. Varghese. "Immediately, we had the grotto blessings, and sprinkling the water, and garlanding (the statue), etc. Then followed by Mass. The photographer was not able to take snaps, because the whole Mass we did under no electricity. Then the power came."

After the blessing of the shrine and Mass, "We had a common meal," wrote Fr. Varghese. People shared "sambar (vegetable stew) and rice. The parishioners are happy."

Sharing a common "agape" meal
after the blessing.

Now, they have a special grotto to offer prayers, whether in times of thanksgiving -- or crisis. Two Catholic boys painted the church gate and wrote this quote in their Telegu language upon the shrine. The quote contains the Blessed Mother's words to Juan Diego: 


"Are you not under my shadow and protection?"

Fr. Varghese joins his people in eating rice
and sambar from a banana leaf.

Two boys from the parish painted this 
quote upon the shrine: "Are you not 
under my shadow and protection?"

The new grotto faces the village street to
bless passersby.

The inside of Our Lady of Help, with the little statue
of Our Blessed Mother that faithful venerated
as monsoons struck their village.

Villagers show their love of the Blessed
Mother by wrapping her in a native sari.

Building Mary's New Home

Fr. Varghese gave this image of Our 
Lady of Guadalupe to the Hindu 
statue maker to use as his model.

Villagers in Yerraverram, India, gathered to build a new home for Our Lady of Guadalupe. The largely Hindu village boasts the tallest idol of Hanuman the monkey god in all India, but also is home to Our Lady of Help Mission, one of the scattered mission outposts served by Fr. Varghese Kalapurakudy. The mission serves a population of day laborers or "coolies," once referred to as "Untouchables."

Hanuman, as seen from Our Lady of Help Mission.

One local Catholic did the masonry work on a new shrine for the Blessed Mother (see more of the story here), while volunteers helped transport rocks and sand. A Hindu statue-maker used clay and cement to form the figure of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which Fr. Varghese says may be the first one in a grotto in all of his Archdiocese of Visakhapatnam.

Volunteers sift sand from gravel for their new shrine.

Fr. Varghese snapped these photos of a villager's
kitchen right next to his mission compound. He said
the poverty of the people brings tears to his eyes.

Many hands build the shrine's new shell.

The laborers are excited to
see the new little structure
take shape.

Our Lady of Guadalupe
emerges.

A Grotto for Yerraverram?

Fr. Varghese showed villagers a couple sample
 grottos for inspiration.

As storm clouds gathered and winds increased during the 2013 monsoon season, villagers at Fr. Varghese Kalapurakudy's mission outpost in Yerraverram gathered outside the windows of their little church to look through and pray to Our Lady of Help to save them. The church is kept locked when not in use to protect it from vandals and thieves.

After some homes were damaged and destroyed by monsoons but lives spared, the faithful asked Fr. Varghese to help them build a grotto to honor the Blessed Mother. He encouraged them, and they began a door-to-door campaign to raise funds for the grotto structure, and gathered sand and river rock to construct its base. A family in America provided funds for the statue, so Fr. Varghese suggested choosing Our Lady of Guadalupe for the grotto, to honor the help and prayers that come from what Fr. Varghese calls his "friendly circle" in the U.S.

River rock helps provide a solid foundation.

Village life as seen from Our Lady of Help Mission
in Yerraverram.

Such makeshift homes in Yerraverram provide little
shelter from monsoons.

In front of the mission compound,
saris dry in the sun.

Some kutcha huts are roofed with dried
 coconut leaves.

A new feature like a Marian grotto is a big improvement
 at a mission that struggles with basic upkeep.
Seen here is Our Lady of Help's front entry step
into the compound.

Volunteers gather to begin work on their new grotto.

Prayer with Fr. Varghese launches
the grotto project.

Praise Him with Song and Dance

"Sing to the Lord a new song...Let them praise his name in the festive dance, let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp. For the Lord loves his people, and he adorns the lowly with victory." Ps. 149:1-4

Holy Family Mission became a hub of singing and dancing to the Lord in mid-January. From the 13-15th each year, Hindus in nearly 97% Hindu India celebrate a harvest feast tied in with the zodiac and honoring their sun god. Businesses close, buses and trains overflow with travelers returning to families.

At Holy Family, those three days off of school and work provided a great opportunity this year to gather youth for a special camp. 

A group of 35 young people joined Fr. Varghese in going door to door and collecting rice and dal (lentils) so meals could be served during the camp.

"We collected 35 kg of rice and 12 kg dal," enthused Fr. Varghese. " But when that amount fell short of what was needed, the missionary sent out a final appeal for vegetables. "Villagers brought their own cultivation."

As opening day approached, the young people were "very energetic and enthusiastic," said the priest. 

Never before had youth in this community of Dalits (Untouchables) attended anything like it -- a chance to worship God together through song, dance and drama as taught by masters of Kolatam and Bharatanatyam from the Archdiocese of Rajamundry and town of Yeleswaram. 

A teacher leading his little class.

Holy Family became the first parish in the Diocese of Visakhapatnam where children would learn Kolatam, a traditional form of dance performed in villages with percussive instruments, and Bharatanatyam, classical Indian dance. Whereas many popular forms of dance in the West are secular and far from spiritual, these Indian forms of dance praise and worship God through both rhythm and graceful, stylized motions. Learning these art forms would allow the young people to use song, dance and drama to express their love of God at village festivals and processions, and at parish events. 

The three days of camp with its theme of "Go, Grow and Glow," were a breath of fresh air for mission children, whose families toil as day-laborers just to survive.

Dance class at the mission door.

The opening of the camp was delayed by what people jokingly call "Indian time." In India, over-jammed public transportation often causes delays. 

"I expected the trainers to be here but they were not able to get the train because of the heavy rush," explained Fr. Varghese. "People are traveling like anything from Hyderabad to Vizag (Visakhapatnam)....so we missed the first session."

The trainers arrived by midnight and officially opened the camp next morning, for more than 100 children. Fr. Varghese began the camp with prayer, and gave talks about living the Faith throughout the sessions.

Salesian nuns who run an English Medium school in Yeleswaram also attended. Their school serves a student body that is 10% Catholic, with the rest of the students Hindu, Muslim and other faiths.

Boys and girls of all ages learned to dance and make
rhythms with the folk instrument called the Kanchara.

The Kanchara can be tricky to learn, but Fr. 
Varghese said a number of the children
picked it up very well.

Preparing "plates" for a meal...

Mealtime drew many hungry to the mission. "We cooked for 230 yesterday," said Fr. Varghese, "but by meal time many hungry stepped inside the compound so again we cooked. "

Cooking a meal outside Fr. Varghese's presbytery.

A team of helpers kept camp-goers fed.

Washing up at the mission bore well.

Some showed real talent with the kanchara.

Faith lessons made the camp a well-rounded
experience.

At camp's end, certain children showed real interest and ability in expressing their faith through these reverential arts. A group began meeting at the mission daily before school to practice Kolatam. They praised God in dance for their mission before Eucharistic Adoration began for First Friday in February.

"I am happy at least three days my children will be happy and they will be in the hands of the Lord," Fr. Varghese wrote before the camp began.

These children have had much to bear over this past year, with cyclones bringing 90% crop loss to the area and political tensions over statehood issues continuing to cause strikes, unemployment, power outages and unrest. Friends who helped meet camp costs such as renting the tent can rejoice. This first-ever enterprise was a success. Many dozens of children gathered and ushered in their new year by singing and dancing for the Lord.

A graceful finale to the camp.