When Father Abraham Vettivolil explains the work his religious order does among the poor in India and Africa, Americans might find his descriptions difficult to comprehend.
In some places, children have limited or no access to education. Some of the people the Missionary Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (MCBS) clerics help on the streets have no access to showers or decent food. Some live very primitively by Western standards. Many have little or no knowledge of Jesus Christ.
During a visit to the Diocese of Columbus in September on behalf of his religious order as part of the Missionary Cooperative Plan, Father Vettivolil made an appeal to the parishioners of St. Mary, Mother of God Church in the German Village area and St. Joseph Cathedral for financial and spiritual support.
He shared with the parishioners of those parishes and in an interview that his order serves the spiritual and social needs of marginalized populations around the world with an emphasis on education, outreach and evangelization.
The congregation has established a strong presence in the northern India states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, where they focus on uplifting impoverished communities.
In Bhinmal, a city with a population of 300,000 in Rajasthan, the order provides elementary education to children with a particular emphasis on empowering girls, who are often prevented from receiving formal schooling by economic hardships and cultural barriers.
Father Vettivolil’s mission appeal in Columbus focused on securing funds for education in Bhinmal to improve transportation, resources, provide teaching materials and support qualified educators. A good education helps break the cycle of poverty, he said.
MCBS priests work in the schools mainly as principals but also as teachers.
Particularly in remote villages, “we establish small schools where there is no established school,” said Father Vettivolil, the counselor for missions in his Indian province who coordinates mission activities.
Because India’s government enforces strict anti-conversion laws that target Christians, the fathers evangelize through education. Civil rights groups have recently organized public protests against the recently passed law that criminalizes religious conversions in Rajasthan.
“In most places, direct evangelization is not possible and so through the schools we impart human values, Christian values,” Father Vettivolil said.
In northern India, Hinduism is the predominant religion. There are so few Catholics that parishes might consist of just 20-25 families in rural areas and 100 or more families in larger cities.
In some areas, priests celebrate Masses in parishioners’ homes because there are no churches. But they are restricted in other areas from visiting homes or preaching. Where the laws are stricter, priests take a more clandestine approach to administering the sacraments, teaching catechism and sharing the Word of God.
The MCBS priests do similar work in Tanzania taking care of pastoral needs, helping in schools and assisting the homeless.
In southern India, where there are more Catholics, the fathers engage mostly in pastoral duties.
“We have institutions with differently abled children and we take care of them,” Father Vettivolil said. “We take care of street people and we take care of the jail ministries.
“Our priests take street people inside and give them a shower and give them food, medication and whatever is possible.”
The Missionaries Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament was founded in 1933 in the Indian state of Kerala. The order has grown to include more than 500 priests serving in northern and southern India, Tanzania, Brazil, Peru, Europe and the United States.
The MCBS order is part of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, an Eastern rite church in full communion with the Holy See.
In Western countries, the order engages mostly in pastoral and parish ministry rather than mission work. In the U.S., MCBS priests are present in Memphis, Tennessee; New York and Chicago.
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