by Santosh Digal

The Word of God is celebrated in the new diocese of Miao (founded in 2005) by bringing the Holy Scriptures directly to the homes of the faithful, surrounded by flowers, incense and songs.

Manmao (AsiaNews) – The Church of Our Lady of Pilar in the diocese of Miao, a northeastern region of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, has organised Bible reading classes for the month of October in order to help Catholics become better acquainted with the Word of God.

“We wish our faithful to be close to God,” said Sister Filicita Kispotta, who runs the programme. For this reason, “we have decided to organise Bible reading for a month.”

The holy book goes house to house. At each stop, it is placed on a table surrounded by flowers, lighted candles and incense. The travelling priest who brings the text reads some passages from the Holy Scriptures, explains the Word of God, and together with the host family reads a prayer and sings a song. At the end of the service, children take blessings from their parents and elders.

The Diocese of Miao was created in 2005. Since 2 May, it is home to the state’s only Roman Catholic cathedral, and the biggest statue of Jesus Christ in the whole of Asia.

The state’s Catholic population is about 70,000, out of a population of a million people.

Arunachal Pradesh is on India’s border with China. Both nations claim it, and have engaged in military confrontation over it in the past.

• india
• arunachal
• pradesh
• manmao
• miao
• diocese
• bible
• reading
• classes