India Part Two

India Part Two
I'm almost at the end of my trip to India.
Last week's meeting in Goa ended on Sunday evening with a major celebration for the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Discalced Carmelites in India.  At 4 pm we started the celebration of the Mass, presided by 3 bishops, and with the presence of over 200 priests, and many Carmelite religious men and women from various Congregations. Carmel, in India, is experiencing impressive growth, fostered by a strong demand for spirituality, by a large number of young people, and by the Church's commitment to Education and Health.
Monday morning we left Goa, myself, Father Saverio and Father Michele (Superior of Arenzano convent). After about three hours we disembarked at Cochin, in Kerala, on the South coast, in the West of India.  Sister Anil and Sister Paulsy welcome us. These two sisters belong to the Congregation of the Mother of Carmel, founded in 1866 by an Indian father, Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara and one of our confreres, Father Leopoldo Beccaro (founder, years later, of the Arenzano convent). Both Sr. Anil and Sr. Paulsy have been in Central Africa for many years, in our Yolé seminary.
In the afternoon we began some intense days of visits and meetings with numerous communities of nuns, and with some of the Sister’s families, who work with us in Central Africa or in Italy. In the hustle and bustle of traffic, among colors, sounds and risky driving, we move around. It is interesting to observe the colors, and the vitality of this part of the world. Tuesday we were in the South, in the area of Changanassery, Wednesday we visited the Mother General, while Thursday we moved to the North, between Colikot and Tamassery, where we visited some communities and families. Here the environment is very rural: each family has a small plantation of coconuts, palm trees, coffee and rubber. The vegetation is of an impressive wealth, and the land is worked in strips, to try to maintain the landscape.
We met lively communities in an area of India where the majority of people are Catholic but there is also the presence of large numbers of Muslim and Hindu. The Church is present in many ways, but first and foremost in the family unit.  In every home there is a space for prayer, and one can sense the joy of being Christian.
The journey of Carmel in India has been long, very long. For over 3 centuries it was a matter of plowing in depth, to create men and women of faith.

Incisione dell'albero della gomma
Caoutchou

Ernakulam

San Giorgio
Saint Georges

Vembanad lake

Fiori di caffé
Fleurs du café