Q: Is it true that the Bible festival you organised has created a great thirst for the Bible in the people of God in Patna? Do all the families read the Bible and recite rosary daily in this month of October?

A: About three thousand people came for the Bible festival all the way from every parish at their own expense. It has definitely created a big thirst for the Word of God even in the villages. We are in the centenary year of our diocese, and we used it as an occasion to promote Bible reading at home. We will follow up on this wonderful development and make it one of the major activities of the diocese in the coming years. Last year we laid emphasis on providing Bibles to families and encouraging them to spend ten minutes in the evening reading it. During my pastoral visits I will try to ensure that each family gets a Bible. In the month of October, we are promoting the Rosary, which our people are not accustomed to say at this time of the year, because they having been saying the Rosary at parish grottos during the month of May. It is the traditional families that have the practice of saying the Rosary in the month of October.

Abp William D’Souza
Patna