Orissa Church remembers Fr. Digal’s martyrdom

(October 29, 2010) The Catholic Church in eastern India’s Orissa state on Thursday marked the second anniversary of the death of a native priest who died of severe injuries sustained during the atrocious anti-Christian violence in August, 2008 in Kandhamal district. A memorial Mass was celebrated for Fr. Bernard Digal in the pro-cathedral of St. Vincent in Orissa capital, Bhubaneswar in the presence of over a hundred priests, nuns, seminarians and faithful. At the Mass, Fr Ratikant Ranjit said, "Father Digal suffered for Christ and died for the glory of God. We pray for him and for others who have suffered and died in the violence in Kandhamal”. Fr. Digal, a native of Tiangia village in Kandhamal and treasurer of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar Archdiocese was brutally beaten up on August 25 and was left in the forest half naked and bleeding the entire night. He was later admitted to the Holy Spirit Hospital in Mumbai. After a two-month agony, the 46-year old priest lost his battle for life on October 28. His body is buried in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. Father Ranjit remembered the late priest for his work as treasurer of the archdiocese, a promoter of vocations, parish priest and educator. Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar recalled Fr. Digal as “a gentle person, a man for others.” “He knew how to adapt to any situation. That's why people loved him very much," the prelate told AsiaNews.