By Amanda Murthy and Kimberley Community Profile
Fulfilling his life-long dream, Broome Bishop Christopher Saunders together with two diocesan priests, embarked on a pilgrimage from 1 to 12 November 2018, visiting many holy sites, as they made their way to the tomb of Saint Francis Xavier.
Speaking about the experience, Bishop Saunders – who marked 23 years of service as a Bishop on 8 February – said he felt blessed to be able to witness the plethora of physical attributes that excite tourists, such as architecture and food for example, and to witness how deeply imbedded the Indian society engaged in their faith in a “wondrous” way.
“It is satisfying at my age to have fulfilled a long-term wish that I thought may never happen,” Bishop Saunders cited.
“To be among so many other pilgrims at the shrine with Fr John Bosco and Fr Robi Kolencherry from the Kimberley Mission and to visit the tomb of one of the greatest missionary’s since apostolic times was a privileged experience that will remain firmly in my mind and heart forever.”
Fr Bosco said he felt extremely blessed to be able to visit his home country with Bishop Saunders and Fr Kolencherry so soon after his ordination to the priesthood.
“The first thing we did was celebrate All Souls Day Mass with the religious sisters upon our arrival in Kerala, then went for a rare mountain and back water experience, which gave us time to reflect on God’s wonderful creation,” he said.
“The Masses we celebrated both in Kerala and in Hydrabad were attended by thousands of people.”
Meeting Archbishop George Alencherry, the head of the Syro-Malabar Church, was of paramount importance for Bishop Saunders, Fr Bosco explained.
“It was a moment of knowing and sharing about each other, learning the rich cultural and faith of Christians in South India, tracing back to the time of St Thomas the Apostle who came to India in 52AD was martyred in Mailapur, Tamilnadu.”
Fr Bosco said the group arrived at the tomb of St Francis Xavier a few days later, and had a rare privilege of celebrating Mass there.
“That was one of the best moment of our pilgrimage; to be able to offer Mass and sit in the Cathedral praying was a great experience for all of us and it was like renewing our missionary zeal,” Fr Bosco explained.
“Apart from knowing and learning about St Francis’ mission, his works, life and death, Bishop Saunders also learned about the great influence and contributions from the Portuguese in Goa and had an opportunity to meet the patriarch of Goa, Archbishop Philip Neri, who was so welcoming and was able to share with us the rich history of the place.”
He added that another personal highlight of the trip was being able to introduce Bishop Saunders to his family and villagers in Hyderabad.
“Bishop Saunders was very gracious as he wanted to meet my family who were unable to fly to Perth for my ordination to the priesthood back in June 2018.
“Upon our arrival, thousands of villagers welcomed the Bishop with a procession leading to the Church where he celebrated Mass with the entire village, which was a unique experience for him.
“All thanks be to God, we enjoyed our trip to India and having Bishop Saunders visit both Fr Kolencherry’s family as well as mine, gave us a lot of encouragement,” Fr Bosco concluded.