DIBRUGARH, April 12 - Amidst the nationwide lockdown, Sacred Heart Cathedral Church located at Bishop�s House here ensured that its believers did not neglect their participation in important religious events of the Holy Week, including Good Friday, Saturday vigil service and the Easter Sunday service.
The Church ensured spiritual presence of the believers through pictorial attendance. In a creative and innovative fashion, Bishop Joseph Aind, the prelate of the Catholic Christians in Upper Assam got all the pews of the Church pasted with photos of believers as they (priests) offered prayers and conducted other religious services during the Easter vigil and Easter Sunday today.
�People could not attend physically due to the lockdown health protocols and restrictions, so we got their pictures pasted on the pews as we conducted our religious services. We prayed for them and also for the people across the globe. We particularly prayed for eradication of the COVID-19 pandemic and for all those afflicted. We also streamed our religious programmes through Youtube for the public. Thousands of Christians from the town and beyond could thus participate in the religious services from their homes,� Bishop Aind told The Assam Tribune.
Sacred Heart Cathedral Church is the second oldest Cathedral in the North East after the Cathedral in Shillong, Meghalaya. The town here has about 400 Catholic families. However, thousands turn up from far and near for the Church services during Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
The traditional gathering and celebration on Easter has no doubt been hampered by the pandemic and consequent lockdown, yet people are not remorseful for they managed to observe the Holy Week events from their homes, added Bishop Aind.
