A parish in Tamil Nadu, south India, organized a blood donation camp on Palm Sunday, April 10, 2022.
“Christ shed his blood to save us from eternal death. Likewise, we are called to donate our blood for the sake of saving many lives during Holy Week,” said Father Arulanandam B, the parish priest of Christ the King Parish, Madurai Archdiocese.
As many as 52 volunteers from the parish donated blood.
"Lent is a season of grace designed to promote penance and charity. It is to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus,” Father James S, the assistant parish priest points out.
Speaking on the occasion, Vijayalakshmi M, the chief medical officer of the Government Rajaji Hospital noted, “Christians are known for charity and that is proved once again through this generous gesture of organizing the blood donation camp.”
Catholics from the parish and locals hailed the efforts of the church.
Selvaraj B, a parishioner said that he was happy to perform this significant act of charity, which gave him special grace from God and profound satisfaction.
According to Christy M, a parish youth girl, the donation of blood was a nightmare for her before the camp, but now she is comfortable and happy with it.
Members of the Parish Pastoral Council, Basic Christian Communities, associations such as Vincent de Paul Society, Legion of Mary, Little Family Sharing Group, Youth Movement, Gospel Prayer Group, and Lay Associates of Holy Family helped to organize the program.
In 1994, then Archbishop Marianus Arokiasamy of Madurai established the Christ the King Church.
Father John Martin was the first parish priest from 1994 to 1997.
It has two substations—St. Joseph's Chapel at Kondamari village and St. Arulanandar Chapel at CAS Colony in Madurai, a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is also the cultural capital of the state.
There are 3500 Catholics in the parish, out of a total population of 9000. Most of them are employed in government jobs like teachers, professors, and the private sector.
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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