By December 2025, the Society of St. Paul (SSP) hopes to distribute copies of the Bible to 6,000 families in the Diocese of Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, south India.
Fr. Alfonso Elengikal, SSP, explained that the initiative is inspired by Blessed James Alberione’s dream: “A Bible for Every Home” and “A New Testament for Everyone.” In preparation for the Ruby Jubilee of the Society’s presence in Andhra Pradesh, Subodha Nilayam launched the campaign “A Bible for Every Home” on November 26, 2022, the feast of Blessed Alberione. Initially targeting 1,500 families in 10 parishes, the project quickly expanded to 25 parishes, reaching over 3,000 families within a year.
Each household received a Telugu Catholic Bible at half the regular price (₹150 instead of ₹300) or free for deserving families. Despite the increase in printing costs, rising to ₹600 per copy in February 2023, the campaign continues to provide the Bible at a subsidized rate of ₹300, with further discounts for students.
The Lourdu Matha Shrine Parish, Thadikalapudi was the first beneficiary, where all 550 families across 10 villages received a Bible. Later, Vyakula Matha Parish, Penugonda, over 80 km away, saw 240 families benefit, also receiving a large Divine Mercy image.
To strengthen the mission, a Central Office for the campaign was inaugurated in February 2023 at Subodha Nilayam by Fr. Domenico Soliman, SSP, Superior General. The office now coordinates Bible distribution in the dioceses of Eluru and Khammam, making related literature in Telugu available at affordable prices.
In January 2024, the campaign extended to Konaseema District (Amalapuram and Razole vicariates), covering most parishes there, while also reaching into Khammam Diocese. By mid-2025, the program had distributed Bibles to over 5,000 families in 62 parishes across the two dioceses.
With the support of parish priests and local communities, the Society of St. Paul remains committed to ensuring that every Catholic family has access to the Word of God, aiming to cross the 6,000-family milestone by December 2025.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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