With Pope Francis accepting PM Narendra Modi's invitation to visit the country, a look at what constitutes the Indian Christian community, and where the head of the Catholic church will find most of his followers
Pope Francis is expected to visit India soon now that Prime Minister Modi has extended an invitation to him. The Pope heads a church of about 1.35 billion Catholics worldwide and he’ll be visiting a country that has an almost equal number of people. I feel the Pope’s journey to India will be momentous, even if the Christian population in India comprises only 2.3% of its population, and only about half of these are Catholics.
Who are the Indian Catholics?
They are represented by three main cultural units or “rites”: The Latin, the Syro-Malabar and the Syro-Malankara rites. Jesus was born into Jewish culture, but he symbolised God, taking-on human culture, wanting to incarnate himself in every culture where he is accepted.
Who are the Indian Catholics?
They are represented by three main cultural units or “rites”: The Latin, the Syro-Malabar and the Syro-Malankara rites. Jesus was born into Jewish culture, but he symbolised God, taking-on human culture, wanting to incarnate himself in every culture where he is accepted.