India: PM Narendra Modi visits Delhi’s Sacred Heart Cathedral Church on Easter

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Sacred Heart Cathedral Church in New Delhi on Easter Sunday, April 9, to show his support for the minority.  

The parish priest of Sacred Heart Cathedral, Fr. Francis Swaminathan, said the PM's visit would show that he cares about Christians as a minority group.

"It demonstrated his support for the minority," he said, adding, "This is the message we receive from the prime minister: that he cares deeply about us and the minorities."

The priest further explained that his visit acknowledged that minorities are equal citizens of the nation.

"The prime minister coming should significantly support Christians like minorities and that they should be helped and should be recognized as equal to the citizens of this country," he explained.

The cleric stated that they were ecstatic about his visit and that it was the first time a prime minister had visited a church. The priest implored the Christians to pray for the government.

"We pray for him, and we pray that he also prays for the church as he comes around in the evening," the priest said. "He would spend about a half-hour in the church and then plant a tree."

After the visit, the prime minister tweeted, "Today, on the very special occasion of Easter, I had the opportunity to visit the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Delhi. I also met spiritual leaders from the Christian community.”

The Sacred Heart Cathedral sanctuary is situated in Connaught Place in Delhi. It is one of the country's oldest church buildings. Pope John Paul II visited the church twice: on February 1, 1986, and November 6, 1999. On occasion, he also released "Ecclesia in Asia," his post-synodal apostolic exhortation about the church in Asia.

Easter Sunday, the day of Christ's resurrection after his crucifixion and death, is the culmination of Christ's passion in the Christian tradition.