“A Bible for Every Home” campaign launched by the Catholic priests belonging to the Society of Saint Paul has reached 2,500 families in one year in the Eluru diocese of Andhra Pradesh, south India.
The campaign takes its origin from the great dream of Blessed James Alberione, founder of the Pauline Family, who kept it close to his heart all his life.
“A Bible for Every Home, A New Testament for Everyone, was a dream, for the realization of which Alberione was prepared to go to any length, even setting aside a printing machine totally for printing different editions of the Bible and of the New Testament,” said Father Alfonso Elengikal, a member of the St. Paul congregation. Alberione also insisted that publishing and distribution of the Bible should take precedence over any other activity the Paulines would take up anywhere in the world, explained Fr. Elengikal.
Keeping this in mind, Subodha Nilayam, Eluru, launched the above campaign, “A Bible for Every Home,” on November 26, 2022, the liturgical feast of Blessed James Alberione, with a target of reaching at least 1500 families with a copy of the Telugu Bible in 10 parishes of Eluru diocese.
The campaign, in less than one year, has already reached 13 parishes in the remote areas of the diocese, touching over 2,500 families and providing each family with a Telugu Catholic Bible at half its selling price (at Indian rupees 150 instead of rupees 280) or even free of charge to deserving families.
Though the price of the new edition has now gone to Rs. 550/-, the campaign hopes to continue providing the Bible to deserving families at half the above price as soon as sufficient copies are readily available.
Lourdu Matha (Our Lady of Lourdes) Parish, Thadikalapudi, nearly 30 km away from Eluru, was the first beneficiary of the campaign. Over 550 families from the parish received the Bible, because of which all the families in the parish, comprising 10 villages, have a Bible in their homes today.
The next parish the campaign visited was Vyakula Matha Parish, Penugonda, over 80 km from Pauline Fatheers’ centre, where more than 240 families received the Bible and a large Divine Mercy picture.
During his brief visit to Eluru in February 2023, Father Domenico Soliman, the Superior General of the Society of St. Paul, inaugurated a Central Office for the Campaign in Andhra Pradesh.
The office presently coordinates the distribution of the Bible in the diocese of Eluru and hopefully in other dioceses of the state, making Bible-related literature available in Telugu at a very affordable price, said Father Elengikal.
Those who are interested in obtaining further information on the “A Bible for Every Home” campaign may contact Fr. Alfonso Elengikal SSP, Subodha Nilayam, K.B. Singh Road, Eluru, 534 006, Andhra Pradesh, India, +91 98338 07756; email: alfonsoelengikal@gmail.com
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