The Church of Our Lady of Bandel or simply Bandel Church, is the oldest and most famous Catholic Marian shrine in eastern India. Some 50 kms north of Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state, the historic monastery on the river Hooghly was built by Portuguese traders in 1599 and entrusted to small group of Augustinian Friars. Bandel Church came under the charge of the Salesians of Don Bosco in 1928. Since June 2015, Indian Salesian Fr. T.L. Francis has been the prior as well as parish priest of Bandel Church. Archbishop Thomas D’Souza of Calcutta has designated Bandel Church as a special Jubilee of Mercy Church during the current Jubilee of Mercy, which Pope Francis officially inaugurated for the worldwide Catholic Church by opening the Holy Door of Mercy of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Dec. 8. We called Fr. on his mobile phone to know about the shrine and its recent developments. Today, Fr. Francis begins the first of a 2-part interview by explaining how the Holy Year of Mercy was introduced with the opening of the Holy Door of Bandel Church on Dec. 13.
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