Cardinal Felipe Neri Ferrao, president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), has congratulated the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar for producing 35 martyrs of faith. The cardinal’s message was read by Archbishop Peter Machado of Bangalore, newly elected CCBI vice president, at a function to mark the golden jubilee of the only archdiocese in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. The February 6 function at Our Lady of Holy Rosary Parish, Daringbadi, in Kandhamal district was attended by 23 bishops, 145 priests, 150 nuns and 20,000 Catholics. “We the bishops of India are delighted to congratulate you on the beatification and canonization of 35 Servants of God. You have unwavering faith in Christ,” said the cardinal’s message. “We cannot forget the sacrifice of the people of your diocese for faith in the anti-Christian violence of 2007-2008. We appreciate you [Divine Word Archbishop] John Barwa [of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar] and your people. Kandhamal has become the land of martyrs now, added the message offering solidarity, affection and closeness to the faithful of the archdiocese.