Cardinal Filoni on India visit as papal envoy

February 08, 2013 - A top Vatican official is on a 8-day visit to India as Pope Benedict XVI envoy to two important celebrations of the Catholic Church in the country. Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, flew from Rome on Friday for India, where from 9 to 16 he will visit Chennai, Vailankanni, Ranchi and New Delhi. He is the Pope’s representative to the golden jubilee of the Shrine of Our Lady of Health, Vailankanni on Sunday, as well as the silver jubilee of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), of the Latin-rite bishops of India. After his arrival in Chennai on Saturday, Cardinal Filoni will travel to the Vailankanni shrine, where CCBI is holding its Feb. 5-9 plenary assembly, to mark its 25 years. Sunday, he will meet CCBI bishops and in the evening will mark the shrine’s golden jubilee. On Feb. 11, he will fly to New Delhi. Feb 12-13, he is scheduled to be in Ranchi, where he will observe Ash Wednesday. That evening he will fly back to New Delhi, and will return to Rome on Feb. 16.