Guntur, a new shrine dedicated to St Michael

Located in a mission in Andhra Pradesh started in 1942. Apostolic Nuncio Msgr Leopoldo Girelli at the inauguration: "Shrines remind us that the Church is not born of our initiative, but of God's".

Guntur (AsiaNews) - The diocese of Guntur, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, has experienced the joy of the inauguration of a new sanctuary dedicated to St. Michael in the parish of Pedavadlapudi in recent days.

The rite was presided over by the apostolic nuncio, Msgr. Leopoldo Girelli, in the presence of the bishop of Guntur, mons. mgr. Bhagaiah Chinnabathini and Msgr. Prakash Mallavarapu, archbishop of Visakhapatnam.

Today's sanctuary is the heir of a first church dedicated to San Michele built in Pedavadlapudi in 1942. A mission which then saw the growth of an orphanage and a high school serving the local community.

Over the years, thanks to the vitality of the basic Christian communities, the number of faithful has grown to the point that the territory has been divided into two different parishes: that of Chiluvuru and that of Nuthakki.

And on the initiative of Fr. Vunnam Kiran the idea was born to completely renovate the old church of San Michele transforming it into a diocesan sanctuary. The work was carried out with the support of the International Mission Ruah Foundation - presided over by the Archbishop of Bucharest Msgr. Aurel Perca – and of the archdioceses of Miami and Chicago.

“The sanctuaries – said Msgr. Girelli in the homily of the celebration - are a great treasure in the life of the Church and remind us that the Church is born from the initiative of God. Every people, every country and every diocese has its holy places in which the hearts of all the people beat of God: places of special meeting between God and human beings; places where Christ lives among us in a special way."

“Faithful to their tradition – concluded the nuncio – the sanctuaries must be engaged in works of charity and assistance, in human development, in the protection of the rights of the human person, in the challenge of justice, all according to the social doctrine of the Church”.