Faith in India

Imagine the following:

• 1 million people gathering over a three day period for an outdoor mass
• six celebrants at the altar with 60 priests on the stage and 12 altar boys
• a long line of pilgrims praying the Stations of the Cross which have been placed up a steep hillside
  
• candles flickering and incense burning in front of a grotto

Question: where are we?

• The Vatican at Easter
• Jerusalem at Christmas
• Lourdes on Feb. 11

The answer, of course, is Vijaywada, India and it's the Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes. The site is the Arogamatha Shrine (Our Lady of Good Health) in Andhra Pradesh's second largest commercial center and people come from all over the state to participate in this annual event. Families climb the hillside together to pray and ask for a blessing from a priest at the top. Vendors line the rocky path selling water to the pilgrims as it is a long, hot, difficult climb. A few beggars, mostly women with babies and children, position themselves at strategic locations and ask for money. Small groups of police observe the proceedings throughout the entire area. You can see the entire city from the top. Down below, just outside the tented area where mass is said, it's a fairground with vendors selling food and religious articles, music. Priests hear confessions and give blessing at key stations almost continuously. In the permanent chapel, there is 24 hour perpetual adoration. People come, bring provisions, set out a mat and stay for three days and there was not a blue, plastic port-a-potty cabin in site. There were water stations provided but no other facilities that I could see. It's an annual event and how it all pulls together is anybody's guess. As one nun told me, these are simple people with good hearts and they have great affection in India for the Blessed Mother.