From cloistered life in Mumbai to the First Missionary Congress of India
by Nirmala Carvalho
The prayer of the nuns from the Monastery of Andheri East for the first continental meeting dedicated to evangelization. The superior: "Through the prayers for the Congress we contribute to the proclamation of the name of Jesus throughout India."

Mumbai (AsiaNews) - The cloistered nuns of Mumbai will participate in the first missionary Congress of the Church in India. The nuns from the Carmelite convent in Andheri East have already begun to prepare for the event, from October 14 to 18 next, that will involve the whole Church on the continent.

Madre Soccorro, superiora del monastero, racconta ad AsiaNews che “c’è grande gioia nella nostra preghiera per il Prabhu Yesu Mahotsav, il Congresso missionario”. Le suore hanno ricevuto il testo dell’invocazione realizzata proprio per l’appuntamento di ottobre.

 

Mother Socorro, superior of the monastery, told AsiaNews that "there is great joy in our prayers for the Prabhu Yesu Mahotsav, the missionary Congress." The sisters have received the text of the invocation made specifically for the event in October. They will not be present in person at the sessions in the College of Saint Pius X in Goregaon, Mumbai. But for days they have been praying for the intentions suggested by the Indian episcopate.

The bishops have in fact invited the faithful to pray for the Congress by sending a text, translated into 11 languages, to invoke the intercession of Jesus and Mary. The prayer contains the hope that the Prabhu Yesu Mahotsav  will renew the Church's missionary activity so that more and more Christians' “witness and spread the light of faith to all the brothers and sisters of India. "  

 
"Prayer is the heart of our vocation - reminds Sr. Socorro - and it is the source of mission. Through the prayers for the Congress we make our contribution so the name of Jesus is proclaimed throughout India”. The superior of the convent of Andheri East recalls that it is "no coincidence that the co-patroness of the missions is St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower, who was a cloistered Carmelite nun." The Prabhu Yesu Mahotsav will be an occasion to remember the thousand-year presence of the Church in India. Sr. Socorro says: "Christianity has become part of India over the centuries and now this work is visible to all. The commitment to the poor, tribals, Dalits and marginalized, women and girls; educational and charitable works, hospitals, institutions created by the Church are all a testament to the missionary impetus which has reached India helping to build the nation".