Kandhamal to get first Jesuit priest

The ordination will take place in the Church of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus in Kotama.

Narendra Singh

India:  The new Jesuit priest who will be ordained on December 30 comes from Odisha’s district of Kandhamal, which was the scene of anti-Christian violence in 2008.

Narendra Singh, 35, will be the first native of the district and the first Jesuit priest to be ordained since the targeted attacks on Christians in Kandhamal by Hindu fundamentalists.

"Narendra's ordination is a great joy in the Year of mercy. All priests, nuns and faithful of the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar are full of joy. We see it as a sign of God's blessing," said Fr. Augustine Singh, president of the diocesan priests' association in Cuttack-Bhubaneswar. "We hope he will become a priest who will always be near the poor and needy," he noted.

The ordination will take place in the Church of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus in Kotama. The celebration will be presided over by Bishop Sarat Chandra Nayak of Berhampur.

The Jesuits arrived in Kandhamal in 1993. Currently there are ten Jesuit priests who come from Odisha. Narendra will be the 11th.

Source: Agenzia Fides