Thousands attend funeral of Bihar’s first native prelate
Patna, India, 3 February 2014: Around 4000 of people on Saturday braved cold weather
to attend the funeral of Indian Archbishop Benedict Joseph Osta, Bihar state’s first
native prelate who played key role in adapting Catholic worship and prayers to the
Second Vatican reforms for the Church in northern India.
The retired archbishop
of Patna died on January 30 at the age of 82. Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, Archbishop
of Ranchi, led the funeral services at Queen of Apostles Church, the archdiocese’s
cathedral at Kurji, a Patna suburb. Cardinal Toppo hailed Archbishop Osta as a spiritual
guru who personified Christ’s love and compassion. Eight other bishops and scores
of priests attended the funeral services.
After the funeral mass, the archbishop’s
body was carried in a procession to the Jesuit cemetery in the campus of Xavier’s
Teachers’ Training Institute (XTTI) in Digha Ghat, 1.5 kilometers of west of the cathedral.
Church-managed
school in Patna archdiocese closed on January 31 as a mark of respect for the prelate
who was popularly known as Archbishop Ben. Some schools closed also on Saturday. His
body was kept in Holy Family Hospital for the public to pay respects.
Archbishop
Ben was born exactly 16 years before India became independent — on August 15, 1931.
He was born in the Christian Quarters of Bettiah in Bihar state’s West Champaran district
where Mahatma Gandhi launched his Indian phase of satyagraha in 1917. He was proud
of being an Indian and instilled the spirit of patriotism among all who came into
contact with him, especially young Jesuits when he was their trainer.
When
Patna was elevated as an archdiocese in 1999, Bishop Osta was installed as its first
archbishop. He resigned from the post in 2006 and, two years later, moved to XTTI
as the institution was slowly transformed into a college for secular studies.
St
Xavier’s College principal Father Nishant said people of Bihar would remember the
prelate’s contributions to improve the downtrodden people. “One of his remarkable
contributions was starting Sewa Kendra (social service center), which works toward
the uplift of financially backward people. It provides poor children non-formal education,
organizes healthcare programs for women and has formed several self-help groups.” Jesuit
green activist Father Robert Athickal found in Archbishop Ben “a top notch” liturgist.
“He was a terrific bishop among his contemporaries,” Father Athickal told Matters
India.
The archbishop had translated most of the liturgical texts in Hindi
“way back when he was the novice master and later as the bishop,” recalled the priest,
who was a novice under Archbishop Ben. “He was not a diehard orthodox liturgist.
He followed his predecessor, American Jesuit Bishop Augustine Francis Wildermuth,
in encouraging his pastors and sisters to make liturgy meaningful by meaningful adaptations,”
the priest added.Source: MattersIndia