The Hindu : Pope's Silver Jubilee: nostalgia sweeps Catholic communities

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 19, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram

Pope's Silver Jubilee: nostalgia sweeps Catholic communities

By M. Dinesh Varma

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Oct. 18. A wave of nostalgia is sweeping across Catholic communities in the city as they await the ceremonies being conducted at the Vatican on Sunday to mark the Silver Jubilee of the pontification of Pope John Paul II and the beatification of Mother Teresa.

Several old-timers still recall with amazing accuracy minute details about the Papal visit to the city on February 8, 1986, when the Shanghumugham beach had turned into a sea of humanity.

A mammoth crowd of people, priests and nuns had congregated on the beach in anticipation of the event. The congregation erupted in raptures as the Pope disembarked from the Popomobile guarded by a high-security cordon and flanked by 86 newsmen and photographers from all over the world.

A slip of a girl wearing a traditional green skirt and red blouse was the cynosure of all eyes as she was the first to welcome the Pope with a sandalwood garland. A picture of the young Archana Antony presenting the garland to the Pope occupies pride of place in the family album of the Antony family.

``We were completely overcome with emotion," recalls Antony Fernandez, father of Archana, who was then a nine-year-old girl studying in the fourth class of the Holy Angels' Convent School. To have been chosen from among the 5,000-odd children of the school to greet the Pope is regarded as a divine ordainment by the Antony family, which is based at Shanghumugham.

And making the event unforgettable for the family, the Pope reciprocated with an embrace and a kiss before presenting a charming string of rosary beads. The memento is preserved in a special cut-glass case to this day.

Mr. Antony says that his daughter, who is now settled with her family in North Carolina, U.S., had to undergo numerous rehearsals to perfect the etiquette of greeting the spiritual icon in traditional fashion.

All she had to do was to bow gracefully and welcome the Pope with the greeting, "Welcome Your Holiness''. But, the little girl had to undergo training for this.

In fact, it is a special Sunday in more ways than one. The day not only coincides with the Silver Jubilee of the pontification of the Pope and the beatification of Mother Teresa but is also the valedictory of the year-long observance of `Rosary Year' and `Mission Sunday' that is observed once every year.

Another person who has two reasons to celebrate Sunday is D. Babu Paul, former Additional Chief Secretary, who had the rare fortune to interact closely with both Pope John Paul II as well as Mother Teresa.

Dr. Babu Paul was the sole representative of the Indian laity who joined the Orthodox delegation that held discussions with the Pope and the Patriarch of Antioch during the Ecumenical Commune in June 1984.

The former bureaucrat had participated in the discussions in the private chamber of the Pope. There was a Holy Mass and a procession as well, he recalls. The significant outcome of that meeting was the Papal declaration that brought the two denominations _ the Roman Catholic Church and the Syrian Orthodox Church closer to each other.

``I recall the Pope as being a very humble, genial and affectionate person," he says. One of the chief attributes of John Paul II is his instrumental role in making Papacy a significant force in the strife-torn modern world.

As the then Chairman of the Kochi Port Trust, Mr. Babu Paul had used his excellent vibes with Augustino Cacciavillaini, Pronouncio in Delhi, to include a visit to the Syrian Orthodox Church in Ernakulam. The original agenda of the Papal visit did not include visits to holy sites other than Catholic churches.

The former bureaucrat also remembers with pride Mother Teresa's visit to his house in Ernakulam. The chair that the Mother sat on has become part of Mother Teresa memorabilia in Babu Paul's household. The chair is adorned with a portrait of Mother Teresa, a holy cross and a picture of the Mother lying in state.

And, after Mother Teresa's beatification ceremony on Sunday, the chair will be the altar, ever aglow with a candle, says Dr. Babu Paul.

The former Accountant General of Kerala, James Joseph, still preserves a personal letter from Mother Teresa expressing her gratitude for arranging, as per her request, the transfer of an employee in the Audit and Accounts Department to Thrissur.

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