INDIA Vijayawada, missionary in the peripheries to share the joy of the Gospel

It is the experience lived in recent weeks by Sr. Priya Moras and Sr. Joshma Medepalli, both missionaries of the Immaculate Conception. The nuns lived in contact with the young, the elderly and the poor. From catechesis to marriage documents, from the sacraments to visits to the elderly, there are many fruits of an activity that seeks to bear witness to Christ, following the exhortation of Pope Francis.

Vijayawada () – Living the mission through an experience in contact with the young, the elderly, the poor scattered in different towns and communities, to appreciate the “gratitude” of small gestures and receive in return what is necessary to satisfy the Daily necessities. This is the experience that Sister Priya Moras and Sister Joshma Medepalli, both Missionaries of the Immaculate Conception (PIME), have lived these weeks. They work in the pastoral care of the parish of Saint John the Baptist in Kondapavuluru, in the diocese of Vijayawada, state of Andhra Pradesh. They shared sorrows and sacrifices, to receive a “new awareness” of the meaning of the consecrated life, of the care of the person and of the witness of Christ even in the most remote areas.

The two nuns explain that they entrusted themselves to the providence of God to immerse themselves deeply in an “experience” that helped them “carry the burdens of the poorest”. In general, these people “lack” goods and resources, but they always “are in the heart of God and of his evangelical message.” The experience, which began on July 23 and ends on August 31, responds to the exhortation of Pope Francis on the occasion of Mission Day 2022: that every baptized person participate in evangelization, be available for the mission and bear witness to the Gospel. with his life.

Both consider “a privilege” the fact of being able to experience the reality of the people of the area, helping them “grow in faith” in the Christian “mysteries” of life and in the celebrations that take place together with the sacrament of baptism. At first, the parish priest Fr. Sleeva Raj Bondala from Kondapaveluru introduced them to the different communities and villages: Gollanapalli, Gopavarigudem, Kattubadipalem, Chikkavaram, Chintagunta and Purushothapatnam, all in the Vijayawada diocese, and entrusted them with various pastoral tasks.

For weeks, they visited families, many of whom live in extreme poverty and need – in the past, they were even marginalized and locked in ghettos. The nuns gave them catechism classes, and also invited some women to join the Legion of Mary. In addition, the sisters breathed new life and momentum into the group of altar servers, both male and female, by instructing them in duties and devotion during the altar service. They worked with the preparation groups for confession, communion and confirmation, to which must be added the effort made to regularize the marriage documents of 350 families, which until now were null due to formal defects.

In one village, 16 baptisms were also celebrated, of adults and children. The nuns brought together the local youth movements and animated the meeting with various activities. Every night they prayed the rosary and the hymns in community, each time in a different place. Visits to the elderly and sick, who were able to benefit from his closeness and prayers, were also essential. During these weeks of mission, they dedicated a lot of space and gave a lot of importance to awareness programs about the sacraments. In particular, communion, which must be approached regularly and walked together with the people of God in a perspective of synodality, as Pope Francis longs for.