DINDIGUL, Tamil Nadu (Indian Catholic News) — Dindigul’s apostolic administrator has called the faithful to remain united in prayer while awaiting a new bishop, urging them to face life’s crosses with faith and love.
In his September message to the Diocese of Dindigul, Archbishop Antonysamy Savarimuthu of Madurai said the period of waiting should be marked by prayer, communion and renewed faith in Christ crucified and risen.
Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Bishop Thomas Paulsamy of Dindigul, 75, the second bishop of Dindigul, on Aug. 3, following his completion of the age prescribed by canon law. The pope appointed Archbishop Savarimuthu as apostolic administrator of the diocese.
Archbishop Savarimuthu expressed gratitude to Bishop Paulsamy, who served the diocese for 10 years, and wished him “a peaceful, joyful, and blessed retired life.”
“During this period of waiting, let us remain united in prayer,” Archbishop Savarimuthu said.
He urged the faithful to ask God to send Dindigul “a shepherd according to His own heart,” who would “know the flock, walk with the people, serve the poor, strengthen the clergy and religious, and lead the Diocese in faith, communion, and mission.”
Cross calls believers to hope
The administrator’s message focused on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on Sept. 14 and the memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows on Sept. 15.
“What was once an instrument of shame, punishment, and death has become for us the sign of salvation, victory, mercy, and hope,” he said of the Cross.
Referring to Christ’s suffering, Archbishop Savarimuthu said, “By his wounds we are healed” and recalled St. Paul’s description of Christ crucified as “the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
He stressed that Christianity does not glorify suffering.
“To carry the cross does not mean to love suffering for its own sake,” he said. “Christianity does not glorify pain.”
Instead, he said, suffering united with Christ can become “a path of love, purification, courage, and hope.”
Dindigul urged to remain one family
Archbishop Savarimuthu called on the diocese to become a compassionate community that stands alongside people experiencing suffering.
“Let our parishes become places where suffering people are not judged, but welcomed; not ignored, but accompanied; not forgotten, but embraced,” he said.
He urged priests, religious, catechists, teachers, parish leaders and the faithful to become “ministers of consolation,” while calling for forgiveness in families, service in institutions, humility in pastoral ministry, justice in social life, and perseverance and hope in personal struggles.
“At this moment in the history of the Diocese of Dindigul, let us avoid discouragement, division, and unnecessary anxiety,” he said. “Let us remain united as one family of God.”
As the diocese waits for a new bishop, Archbishop Savarimuthu urged the faithful to renew their faith in Christ.
“Let us renew our faith in Christ crucified and risen. Let us not be afraid of the crosses of life,” he said. “Let us carry them with faith. Let us help one another carry them with love. Let us place our wounds in the wounds of Christ.”
“May the Holy Cross protect the Diocese of Dindigul” wrote Archbishop Savarimuthu and prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide the diocese during its period of waiting.
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