austraLasia
1481
How they brought
the Good News from Ghent to
Ranchi*
GENT: 8th March 2006 --
This is not a tale by Robert Browning, nor about 'Aix-la-Chappelle', except to
note in passing that precisely this week Belgium is making certain changes to
its laws about naming places, returning to the former Flemish names.
Aix-la-Chappelle, on that score, will once again be that instead of today's
Aachen, one supposes. But no, Browning aside we heard a whisper that Bishop Van
Looy was in the South Asia region, the city of Ranchi, to be precise (for
Salesians that would be in New Delhi province). So we asked him, as that
seemed to be the best way to get the correct info. As usual he replied by
return mail to say that Cardinal Telesphore Toppo had invited him to bless a
Church that had been constructed with funds from the Gent diocese. It goes
further than that, however, since there have been long-standing connections
between Ghent and Ranchi. The 'Good News' was indeed brought from Ghent to
Ranchi. The first Jesuit missionaries were Flemish, and Fr Constant
Lievens is the great missionary of nearby Chotanagpur. His body was
brought back there in recent years and is now venerated in the Cathedral in
Ranchi, There are still Flemish (and Ghent) Jesuits working in Ranchi, along
with two other Congregations which had their origins in Gent: the Brothers of
Charity, and the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary. The Ursulines from
Tildonk also have a foundation in or around Ranchi. Of course Bishop Luc
also took the opportunity to re-establish old ties with Salesians in the
area. For those who do not know, he was at one time the Councillor for the
Missions, and had visited many of these places before.
Meanwhile, since it is 'Oscar' time, we also hear that Cardinal Rodriguez will
be visiting Rome - almost certainly in time for the ceremony installing Cardinal
Zen later this March, but he will be visiting the UPS to launch a book published
by Ancora and fittingly entitled (in its English translation) The Oscar
colour purple, by Enzo Romeo - the story of Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez as the
'voice of Latin America'.
GLOSSARY
* 'How they brought the Good News
from Ghent to Aix' [16 - ]: Poem by Robert Browning published 1845 or
thereabouts, famous for its onomatopoeic
effects
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