In Kerala, seven young men from different rites, languages and traditions solemnly join the religious order together for the first time in India. For Fr Ivel Mendanha, “what unites the Redemptorists is the spirit of our Lord Jesus the Redeemer and the mission to proclaim him to those who are poor and abandoned.”
Vadavathoor (Kerala) – For the first time in the history of the Redemptorists in India, a group of young men religious from different rites made their perpetual profession together.
On 24 May, five candidates from the Province of Liguori, which follows the Syro-Malabar rite, and two from the Vice Province of Majella (Mumbai), which follows the Latin rite, took part in the ceremony held in Vadavathoor (Kerala).
Provincial Superior Fr Biju led the service during the Holy Qurbana, the Syro-Malabar Eucharistic liturgy in Malayalam, but the rite of profession was in English after the proclamation of the Gospel.
In his homily, the Vice Provincial of Majella, Fr Ivel Mendanha, said that, “despite the differences in rites (Syro-Malabar vs. Latin), languages (Malayalam vs. Konkani), and cultures (Kerala vs. Mumbai), what unites the Redemptorists is the spirit of our Lord Jesus the Redeemer and the mission to proclaim him to those who are poor and abandoned. As Redemptorists, we are One Body despite our differences.”
The seven students, who attended Mt. St. Alphonsus Common Theologate in Bengaluru (Bangalore), will now take part in their final months of preparation for ordination as deacons and then as priests.
The group of students from the Vice Province of Majella included another student who became seriously ill on the first day of the programme and had to be hospitalised.
However, “By the grace of the Lord and the prayers of so many, as well as the excellent medical staff at the Caritas hospital, he is slowing healing. We are looking forward to the day that he will make his final vows,” read a statement issued by the Redemptorists.