A Move to the Sea

Above, Fr. Varghese's new location takes him to India's southeast coast. In Kakinada, also known as "Fertilizer City" due to its fertilizer factories, locals include shopkeepers, factory workers and mariners. In bottom photo, helpers maintain the grounds at Father's new Sacred Heart of Jesus Mission, a parish yet to build a church.

Fr. Varghese returned to India from his first-ever trip to the U.S. on June 5, flying into temperatures of 118 -degrees F. Newly recovering from pneumonia, the missionary prayed many Rosaries through his 20-plus hour flight from Chicago's O'Hare to Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airports. 

A sweltering bus ride to Kakinada delivered him to his new mission assignment at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Kothi Kakinada. A kind priest friend oversaw the moving of Fr. Varghese's household goods and animals to their new home. Before leaving India for America, Fr. Varghese built cages so his animals could be safely delivered to his next assignment. Crates of his belongings and some joyous greetings from his dogs awaited him upon his arrival at his new home.

Gypsy the dog had a long month, without his master.

Fr. Varghese said even Gowry the cow "jumped for joy" at seeing him after a month's absence. Happiest of all, was Fr.'s adopted orphan Akhila, who Fr. said was also "ecstatic" to receive her books for a fresh school year and start at a new school.

How a modern missionary catches up with
correspondence. Fr. Varghese is shown here
with Gowry the cow. A gift from a grateful parishioner,
Gowry is named after a Marian shrine in India.

Akhila doing her homework on the mission rooftop. 
She is happy to dig into her studies at a 
brand new school.

Fr. Varghese found that the water purification system at the mission needed replacement, so he accomplished that first thing. And for the first time ever, he had a small air conditioning unit installed in one small room in his residence, to help combat his migraine headaches brought on by heat. As temperatures continued to top 118-degrees F., Father brought his animals into his room to cool them. Relief is sketchy, however, since power outages are frequent. 

Most people stay indoors after 8 AM and before 6 PM to avoid this hottest time of the year. But Fr. Varghese still goes about his ministry, burying the dead, and blessing the sick and homebound. One day, he visited a man in the hospital who had injured his head digging rock. 

Another day, Father wrote that he "traveled for a house blessing 10 kilometers in the hot sun on my motorcycle, then for a burial 7 kilometers away, then finally to a lady, age of 45, unmarried, who was very sick these past six years. Today she was very serious in her situation, about to die..."

Fr. Varghese brought her Holy Communion, and took her to a good doctor in Rajamundry, who started her on the healing process with appropriate medication.

"I got a call from her Dad," wrote Fr. Varghese. "She is okay."

Having one little room with air conditioning
provides some needed relief from 118-degree F. temps,
in between frequent power outages.

Sacred Heart faithful welcomed Fr. Varghese at his first Sunday Mass with shawls and flowers. People come to Kakinada from all across India, so, Father celebrated his 8:30 AM Mass in English, his second Mass in Telugu and his third Sunday Mass in his native language of Malayalam. When a priest in another village succumbed to heat stroke, Fr. Varghese hopped on his motorbike and drove there to fill in, celebrating his fourth Mass on his first Sunday in Kakinada.

Some of his faithful are Anglo-Indians, and have some British ancestry. Others are from the states of Kerala or Tamil Nadu. One of Fr. Varghese's challenges as a pastor, is to unite all his people of various backgrounds into one loving community.

To help do this, one of his first actions as new pastor was to invite the people to begin praying a daily 7 PM Rosary in front of  the Sacred Heart of Jesus Statue and Pieta grotto at the front entrance to the compound. Ten people showed that first night. 

"I pray it will soon be 100," wrote Fr. Varghese. "Mother Mary, help us."

Farewell to Yeleswaram and Hello to America

With some friends at his May 5, 2014 farewell jubilee Mass
at Holy Family Mission in Yeleswaram, India. 

On May 5, 2014, Fr. Varghese Kalapurakudy celebrated his final Mass as pastor of Holy Family Mission in Yeleswaram, India. It was also his ordination anniversary, and his people honored him with wreaths, ceremonial shawls and cake, and crowded with him into dozens of photos.

A poster created nearly a decade ago celebrating Fr. 

Varghese's ordination to the priesthood.

Fr. then boarded a bus to Hyderabad and stepped on a plane for the first time ever, heading to America for a rest before taking on his new assignment at Sacred Heart Church in Kakinada.

Friends in the U.S. who had followed Fr.'s doings through word of mouth and blog posts via Dalitjournal.blogspot.com, finally met their missionary in person.

Fr. Varghese was greeted at the airport and handed a winter coat, since temperatures were at record lows across the Chicago area.  He shivered through the first weeks of May, as he celebrated Mass at Churches across the Joliet Diocese and Chicago Archdiocese.

Friends greet Fr. Varghese in Chicago's O'Hare Airport.

Fr. attended the West Suburban Homeschool Band concert to see his host family's sons play their trumpet ad trombone. Band director Karen Borow told the audience of their visitor from the East, and the crowd clapped and welcomed Fr. Varghese.

When the celebrant for the R.O.C.K. Homeschool Graduation Mass became sick and entered the hospital, Fr. Varghese stepped in to celebrate the event, handing a diploma to his host family's son Daniel, and to 14 other grade and high school graduates.

Fr. celebrated the R.O.C.K. Homeschool Graduation Mass
May 26, 2014.

Fr. Varghese also concelebrated Mass at St. Thomas Syro Malabar Cathedral, the only cathedral of this rite in the United States. There he met other Malayali from his home state of Kerala, India. 

St. Thomas Syro Malabar Cathedral in Bellwood, Illinois.

One of the priest's official reasons for visiting America was to meet the parents of his missionary friend Marianna, and to visit her 96-year-old father Joseph, who always eagerly followed Father's activities at his missions. Joseph entered Intensive Care with sepsis and a blood clot on the lung just as the missionary left India, but was able to greet his visitors with a smile just hours after Fr. Varghese arrived in the U.S. 

Visiting "Dad Joseph" in the hospital with Marianna, 

one of his friends and hosts in Chicago.

On his first tour of Chicago and Lake Shore Drive, Fr. enjoyed the sites, but then laid his head back for a nap, exhausted by his bus trip to Hyderabad Airport, 20-plus hour plane flight and all the events leading up to May -- Easter, trips to Hyderabad to finalize his VISA, his jubilee and last Mass celebration at Holy Family in Yeleswaram, and packing up for his new assignment at Sacred Heart Church in Kakinada upon his return.

His host family toured Fr. Varghese down Lake Shore Drive.

One of "Fr. V's" younger fans in America.

Concelebrating Mass at Visitation Church in Elmhurst, 

with Fr. Benjamin Chinnappan, Chaplain at Hines Veterans

Hospital outside of Chicago and head of a group 

that runs schools for the needy in the Indian state
of Tamil Nadu.

Fr. Varghese's vacation hinged on his daily Mass. 

Fr. Varghese processes after concelebrating an orchestral

Latin Mass at beautiful St. John Cantius Church in Chicago.

At the end of his trip to the Chicago area, Fr. was diagnosed with walking pneumonia. He was cleared for travel just two days before taking his Air India flight back to Hyderabad. He returned to temperatures more than 110-degrees F., spent a day on an un-air conditioned bus, and took up his new assignment in the industrial town of Kakinada, on India's southeast coast.

After one day unpacking, Fr. celebrated his first Sunday Mass at Sacred Heart Mission, honored by his new flock with flowers and shawls. In a letter to his friends back in America, he thanked them for the "love and caring" that helped make his trip so meaningful.

God blessed you in Yeleswaram, India and Chicago, Illinois in the U.S., Fr. Varghese, may you continue to be richly blessed and to inspire others at Sacred Heart in Kakinada.

The Marian priest in America.