With a population of 1.4 billion, India is the world’s most populous country and a young, rapidly growing nation.
The Christian community in India, which was evangelized by Saint Thomas, is one of the oldest. It accounts for 2% of the population, or 35 million people.
Syro-Malankara and Syro-Malabar
Christians, who are a minority throughout the country, are found primarily in the southern state of Kerala. Despite official religious freedom, acts of violence target Christian and Muslim minorities. In the east, numerous acts of vandalism against Christian places of worship reflect tensions between different religions.
In India, L’Œuvre d’Orient annually supports 70 projects led by 49 religious communities in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, as well as development assistance for new dioceses, parishes, and missionary communities in other states. These communities serve the most marginalized poor through initiatives such as helping to establish a school for “rag-pickers”—children who sort through trash at Delhi’s landfills. This school provides these “untouchable” children with access to education, as well as a uniform and a lunch.
L’Œuvre d’Orient also helps build or renovate churches, parish centers, rectories, centers for adults with disabilities, homes for widows, minor and major seminaries, clinics, and hospitals. Training programs for the clergy, religious congregations, and lay catechists help strengthen the Church’s pastoral and missionary presence, especially in remote areas.
