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.
Over 100 priests in India have died during COVID second wave cruxnow.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cruxnow.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
St. Xavier’s University has opened care centers in Kolkata to treat people with COVID-19 who have no place to isolate at home.
Fr. Felix Raj, S.J., the vi
Conference of India
At this time when so many in India are suffering as a result of the present health emergency, I am writing to convey my heartfelt solidarity and spiritual closeness to all the Indian people, together with the assurance of my prayers that God will grant healing and consolation to everyone affected by this grave pandemic.
My thoughts go above all to the sick and their families, to those who care for them, and in particular to those who are mourning the loss of their loved ones. I think too of the many doctors, nurses, hospital workers, ambulance drivers and those working tirelessly to respond to the immediate needs of their brothers and sisters. With deep appreciation I invoke upon all of them God’s gifts of perseverance, strength and peace.
Rome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2021 / 13:00 pm (CNA).
There are seven priests currently hospitalized with COVID-19 from the archdiocese of Ranchi in one of the states in India with some of the poorest medical infrastructure in the country, according to a local bishop.
Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, an auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese located in Jharkhand state, took each of the priests to the hospital because there were no ambulances available.
He held back tears as he described the dire health situation in his diocese in an interview with Colm Flynn of EWTN News.
“I have seven priests in hospital right now, and those are the lucky ones who found a hospital bed. I have another seven seminarians who are sick, lying in their beds in a house close to the hospital. I took them to a house for the aging because there was no place in the hospital,” Mascarenhas said.