The act of consecration will be presided over by the local archbishop and secretary general of the Latin Rite Indian Episcopal Conference, Msgr. Anil Joseph Thomas Couto.
Newsdesk (July 22, 2021 11:57, Gaudium Press) On August 7, India will be consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Act of Consecration will take place in the Sacred Heart Cathedral of New Delhi and will be presided over by the local Archbishop and Secretary General of the Indian Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Latin Rite (CCBI), Monsignor Anil Joseph Thomas Couto.
National prayer for the souls of victims of the Covid-19 pandemic
The Catholic bishops have called for this special moment of national prayer in suffrage for the souls of the victims of the Covid-19 pandemic. The act will take place on Saturday, August 7, from 8:30 to 9:30 pm, and will be held at the tombs of St. Thomas, St. Francis Xavier, and St. Teresa of Calcutta, and at the Marian basilicas of Bandra (Mumbai), Sardhana (Meerut), Hyderabad, Shivajinagar (Bangalore), and Vailankanni.
The opening chant of the prayer moment at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount in Mumbai will be sung by Msgr. João Rodrigues, Auxiliary Bishop of Mumbai. The opening part of the prayer will be recited by Monsignor George Antonysamy, CCBI Vice-President and Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore, at the tomb of St. Thomas in the Basilica of Chennai. Raymond Joseph, secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Vocations, will proclaim the Gospel at St. Mary’s Basilica in Bangalore. Finally, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, will be responsible for giving a reflection in the city’s Cathedral dedicated to the Holy Name.
Special Prayer for the end of the pandemic
The Prayer of the Faithful will be recited in seven languages (Hindi, Tamil, Khasi, Telugu, Kannada, Santali and Malayalam) at the Basilica of Our Lady of Grace in Sardhana, Uttar Pradesh, and will be led by Father Chetan Machado, Secretary of the Episcopal Youth Commission.
A special prayer for the end of the pandemic at the Archdiocesan Basilica of Our Lady of Assumption will be recited by Archbishop Anthony Poola of Hyderabad. The Litany of Supplications will be led from the tomb of St. Teresa of Calcutta by the local Archbishop Thomas D’Souza, together with the Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity, Sister Mary Prema Pierick.
Latin Catholic Church in India consists of 132 dioceses and 18 million faithful
Another prayer will be led by Bishop Vincent Aind, Bishop of Bagdogra, in suffrage for the souls of the deceased and for all those whom the Church could not allow to be buried due to anti-contagion health restrictions. Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrão, Archbishop of Goa and Daman and President of the CCBI, will grant the final blessing from the tomb of St. Francis Xavier in the Goa Basilica.
The “Salve Regina” (Hail Holy Queen) will be chanted in Latin at the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Vailankanni by Bishop Devadass Ambrose, Bishop of Thanjavur, and Father Prabakar, rector of the shrine. The Bishops urge “everyone in particular families and religious communities to participate in the moment of prayer and share it with family members and members of communities living abroad, so that they too can participate as a ‘family’ , thus witnessing to the catholicity and the cultural and linguistic diversity of the Latin Catholic Church in India, comprising 132 dioceses and 18 million faithful.” (EPC)