INDIA Orissa, a new monument in memory of the Kandhamal martyrs

A slab with 105 names in Kolanajuen parish commemorates the 105 Christians who died for their faith in the 2008 persecution. Father Digal’s brother said: “I always remember his testimony and his love for the people.” One of the victims of violence by Hindu fundamentalists is among five new priests in the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar.

Kolanaju () – On Saturday, January 21, at the Divine Mercy Church in Kolanaju, a new memorial was inaugurated that commemorates the names of the 105 martyrs from the Kandhamal district, killed in 2008 in Orissa in the harshest wave of persecutions against Christians in India. “This slab – said Fr. Pradosh Chandra Nayak, Vicar General of the Diocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, at the time of inaugurating the memorial – helps people to remember, in their process of grieving, but also to honor the life they lived and gave witness those who sacrificed their lives for Christ”.

The faithful received the priests who participated in the Eucharistic celebration with dances. Hundreds of Kandhamal survivors gathered for the inauguration. After the mass, the priests and faithful shared memories and prayers for the martyrs in front of the monument. “For us it is painful when we lose someone we love very much, but the bond with that person continues even without his physical presence,” says Anakleta Nayak, a catechist who survived the persecution.

“When I see my brother’s name, I remember his love and affection for the people, his service and his witness to Christ through the sacrifice of his life,” adds Luicy Digal, brother of Fr. Bernard Digal, who was treasurer of the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar and was mercilessly killed during attacks on Christians in 2008. “They are in our hearts and minds, we cannot forget them because they showed courage and stood firm in their faith in Christ,” added Fr Manoj Nayak, one of the survivors and promoter of the monument.

But the memory of the Orissan martyrs also continues through new vocations: on January 23, the Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, Mgr John Barwa presided over the ordination of 5 new priests and 4 deacons. The rite took place in the church of San José in Udaipur, another of the areas of the Kandhamal district most affected by violence. Among the new priests is Fr. Bimol Digal, from the village of Kampoda, who was personally a victim of the persecution. “God – said Msgr. Barwa in his homily – has blessed the Church of Kandhamal with its priests to continue the mission. And God gives to those who ask.”

(Nirmala Carvalho contributed)