This group from Kerala, India, is on a Marian pilgrimage during the month of May to visit Lourdes, Fatima and Medjugorje. They have already visited Fatima and have now come to Rome to meet the pope.
FR. THOMAS
“We went to Fatima and now we came to the Vatican. And especially the General Audience is the best for us to receive the blessing of our beloved papa. FLASH 1:11-1:23 What I could experience is that the Holy Spirit is calling all people, from different languages, places and people come together.”
While they are tired from the trip, this is the first time many in the group have seen these religious sites and they couldn't be happier.
LEELAMMA SEBASTIAN
“As a Catholic, we always wanted to visit our Papa, just to see him face-to-face. It's quite difficult for us from Kerala, India to come and visit this place everyday, but we got the opportunity, so we are so happy. We won't get a chance like this, I don't think, to come again. But we all are very happy.”
They even wanted to bring their traditional clothes with them, representing their home and country to the pope.
LEELAMMA SEBASTIAN
“You can make out that we are from India with our suits. This dress is known as our suit, our traditional... Of course the sari is our traditional dress. This is all Indians wear.”
The Catholic population in India makes up less than two percent or 19.9 million people. Thus, this group can now move on to the remaining Marian sites on their pilgrimage, knowing they represented their country at the Vatican and visited the pope.
