Coramandel coast

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Roman Catholicism in India

The Roman Catholic Church in India is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome. Although Christianity in India dates to the 1st century AD, Catholicism was introduced much later in the 16th century by the Portuguese.

There are over 17.3 million Catholics in India, which represents less than 2% of the total population and is the largest Christian Church within India. There are 157 ecclesiastical units in India comprising 29 archdioceses and 128 dioceses. Of these, 127 are Latin Rite, 25 Syro-Malabar Rite and 5 Syro-Malankara Rite.

All the bishops in India, both Western and Eastern, form the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, which was founded in 1944. The Holy See's representative to the government of India and to the Church in India is the Apostolic Nuncio to India. The diplomatic mission was established as the Apostolic Delegation to the East Indies in 1881. It was raised to an Internunciature by Pope Pius XII in 1948, and to a full Apostolic Nunciature by Pope Paul VI in 1967.

History of Roman Catholicism in India

Early Christianity in India

Christianity in India is reputed to have been introduced by Thomas the Apostle in 52 AD. These Saint Thomas Christians were Nestorians at least by 530 AD. This community were governed by the Bishops from Persia and Babylonia.

Early Missionaries

John of Monte Corvino, was a Franciscan sent to China to become prelate of Peking about the year l307.He traveled from Persia and moved down by sea to India, in 1291, to the Madras region or “Country of St. Thomas” .There he preached for thirteen months and baptized about one hundred persons. From there Monte Corvino wrote home, in December 1291 (or 1292).That is one of the earliest noteworthy account of the Coromandel coast furnished by any Western European. Traveling by sea from Mailapur, he reached China in 1294, appearing in the capital “Cambaliech” (now Beijing)

Friar Odoric of Udine who arrived in India in 1321. He visited Malabar, touching at Pandarani (20 m. north of Calicut), at Cranganore, and at Kulam or Quilon, proceeding thence, apparently, to Ceylon and to the shrine of St Thomas at Maylapur near Madras. He writes he had found the place where Thomas was buried.

Father Jordanus, a Dominican, followed in 1321-22. He reported to Rome, apparently from somewhere on the west coast of India, that he had given Christian burial to four martyred monks.

Jordan Catalani a French Dominican missionary and explorer in Asia. He is known for his “Mirabilia” describing the marvels of the East. In 1329, he furnished the best account of Indian regions and the Christians , the products, climate, manners, customs, fauna and flori given by any European in the Middle Ages - superior even to Marco Polo’s.

In 1347, Giovanni de’ Marignolli visited the shrine of St Thomas near the modern Madras, and then proceeded to what he calls the kingdom of Saba, and identifies with the Sheba of Scripture, but which seems from various particulars to have been Java. Taking ship again for Malabar on his way to Europe, he encountered great storms.

Another prominent Indian traveler was Joseph, priest over Cranganore. He journeyed to Babylon in 1490 and then sailed to Europe and visited Portugal, Rome, and Venice before returning to India. He helped to write a book about his travels titled The Travels of Joseph the Indian which was widely disseminated across Europe.

Arrival of the Portuguese

Introduction of Catholicism in India started with arrival of Vasco da Gama, who was seeking pre-existing Christian nations with which to form anti-Islamic alliances. The lucrative spice trade was further temptation for the Portuguese crown.

With the papal bull Romanus Pontifex the patronage of the mission was granted to the Portuguese and they were remunerated with a trade monopoly. After four decades of prosperous trading they started the proselytization around 1540. Missionaries of the newly founded Society of Jesus were sent to Goa and the Portuguese colonial government supported the mission with incentives for baptized Christians. They offered rice donations for the poor, good positions in the Portuguese colonies for the middle class and military support for local rulers and hence these Christians were dubbed Rice Christians who even practiced their old religion. At the same time many New Christians from Portugal migrated to India as a result of the inquisition in Portugal. Many of them were suspected Crypto-Jews, because they were forcibly converted to Catholicism. Both was considered a threat to the immaculateness of the Christian belief. Saint Francis Xavier, in a 1545 letter to John III of Portugal, requested an inquisition to be installed in Goa which would spell the end of Portuguese domination in the Christian dominance.

When the Portuguese came into India, they set themselves to the task of removing this Nestorianism and bringing the community into union with the Catholic Church. Latinisation of St Thomas Christians started in the early 16th century. The Synod of Diamper was convened by the Portuguese between 20 and 26 June 1599, which led most Indian Nestorians to acknowledge the authority of the Pope in Rome. Most of the Christians in the Coramandel coast accepted the Catholic faith, but some St Thomas Christians of the Malabar still stayed with the Assyrian Church or stayed independent.

Later conversions

Other than the St Thomas Christians, people of other faiths were converted zealously by the Portuguese. This started with Goa, then spread to fishery coast of Cape Comorin, inland districts of Madurai and the western coast of Bassein, Salcette, Bombay, Karanja, and Chaul. With the advent of suppression of Jesuits in 1773 the missionary expansion declined in India along with the need for organisations within the Church in India. Especially when the Vicar Apostolate of Bombay was erected in 1637 which was under the direct ruling from Rome, caused misunderstanding between the Portuguese missionary and the Apostolate. The inquisition of Goa had caused strained relationship and mistrust with the Hindus of India The strained relations between the Church and the Portuguese missionaries reached a climax when in 1838 the Holy See cancelled the jurisdiction of the three suffragan Sees of Crangaqnore, Cochin, and Mylapur and transferred it to the nearest vicars Apostolic, and did the same with regard to certain portions of territory which had formerly been under the authority of Goa itself. Finally in 1886 another concordat was established, and at the same time the whole country was divided into ecclesiastical provinces, and certain portions of territory, withdrawn in 1838, were restored to the jurisdiction of the Portuguese sees.

Catholic Church and social works

Concern with charity was common to Catholics and Protestants, but with one major difference: whilst the former could obtain salvation through faith and good works and might be relatively sure that forgiveness of sins could be aided through charity, the latter could not rely on such a possibility, since God alone could save believers, without the agency of the individual or intermediaries. In Portuguese India, for instance, Saint Francis Xavier and his fellow missionaries were especially careful to help the local charitable institutions by tending to the sick, both spiritually and physically, and performing other works of mercy. The Jesuits' educational institutions, although never succeeding in missionary activities, had left a prestigious impact through their education institutions. Education has become the major priority for the Church in India in recent years with nearly 60% of the Catholic schools situated in rural areas. Even in the early part of the 19th century, Catholic schools had left its emphasis on poor relief and welfare.

The Church provides an estimated 22 percent of all health-care services, operating 5,000 facilities, and employs 33 percent of Indian health-care workers, including 40,000 Catholic nurses.

Ecclesiastical Provinces

The provinces covered by the Church include 31 provinciates, which are broken down into 23 Roman Catholic, 6 Syro-Malabar and 2 Syro-Malabar provinces.

Statistics

Statistics for 2003

Total number of diocesan priests: 14,000
Religious Priests: 13,500
Religious Brothers: 4,300
Religious Sisters: 90,000
Total no. of Religious Congregations: 300 (Men, 70; Women, 230)Educational Institutions:
Kindergartens/Nursery Schools: 3,785
Primary Schools: 7,319
Secondary Schools: 3,765
Colleges: 240
Medical/Nursing Schools/Colleges: 28
Engineering Colleges: 5Social Welfare Activities:
Technical Training Schools/Polytechnics: 1,524
Hostels/Boarding Houses: 1,765
Orphanages: 1,085
Creches: 228
Hospitals: 704
Dispensaries/Health Centres: 1,792
Leprosaria: 111
Rehabilitation Centres: 102
Homes for Aged, Destitutes & Physically challenged: 455