India: more than 400 priests and nuns have died of Covid-19
At least 205 priests and 210 nuns have died of Covid-19 in India, mostly in April and May.
By Robin Gomes
At least 400 priests and nuns have died in India due to Covid-19, the bulk of them in the height of the devastating second wave of infections in the country in April and May. The grim figure is provided by Capuchin priest Father Suresh Mathew, the editor of the Church-run Indian Currents magazine, who has been compiling the list of the country’s priests and nuns who have died in harness in the pandemic. According to the update as of Saturday, May 29, 205 priests and 210 nuns have died of Covid-19, bringing the total to 415. The number could be higher as some casualties are not reported.
May 25, 2021
CWN Editor s Note: “An important fact is the fact that many priests who died of Covid-19 were aged around 40, so they were in their prime,” said Father Suresh Mathew, OFM Cap. “These deaths are the highest form of Christian charity: they died while serving others.”
The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
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A family member mourns next to the body of a COVID-19 coronavirus victim in a hospital in Mahua on May 18, 2021, after Cyclone Tauktae hit the west coast of India with powerful winds and driving rain, leaving at least 20 people dead. | SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images
Father Victor David, parish priest of Our Lady of Happy Voyage in Howrah, India, died from COVID-19 last Thursday at the Mercy Hospital hours after Sister Pranita Rai, principal of St. Teresaâs School in Kidderpore, died from the virus too.
The two missionaries of the Catholic Church died as the faithful were observing the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, according to The Times of India. And as more than 4,000 people die daily from the virus in that country, more than 160 priests have reportedly died in the past five weeks. Some 120 of them died between April 1 and April 15, Father Suresh Mathew, the editor of Indian Currents, told CRUX.
More than 120 priests die in 2 weeks amid COVID-19 outbreak in India crossmap.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from crossmap.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A family member mourns next to the body of a COVID-19 coronavirus victim in a hospital in Mahua on May 18, 2021, after Cyclone Tauktae hit the west coast of India with powerful winds and driving rain, leaving at least 20 people dead. | SAM PANTHAKY/AFP via Getty Images
Father Victor David, parish priest of Our Lady of Happy Voyage in Howrah, India, died from COVID-19 last Thursday at the Mercy Hospital hours after Sister Pranita Rai, principal of St. Teresaâs School in Kidderpore, died from the virus too.
The two missionaries of the Catholic Church died as the faithful were observing the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, according to The Times of India. And as more than 4,000 people die daily from the virus in that country, more than 160 priests have reportedly died in the past five weeks. Some 120 of them died between April 1 and April 15, Father Suresh Mathew, the editor of Indian Currents, told CRUX.