Sumanahalli, the Society for the Welfare and Rehabilitation of Leprosy Affected and other Destitute, had the joy of welcoming our Chief Shepherd, His Grace Most Rev. Peter Machado, the new Archbishop of Bangalore on 06 June 2018. In a way, after the canonical installation on 31 May, the Archbishop chose to begin his ministry through this kind gesture of visiting and spending some time with the inmates of Sumanahalli, the most marginalized and stigmatized of the society.            

The Archbishop celebrated the Eucharist with the inmates and gave an inspiring message. In the message he especially highlighted the special status of the poor in the Church and urged all to show concern and service towards the upliftment of the marginalized. We may think of the poor simply as the beneficiaries of our occasional volunteer work, or of impromptu acts of generosity that appease our conscience. However good and useful such acts may be for making us sensitive to people’s needs and the injustices that are often their cause, they ought to lead us to a true encounter with the poor and a sharing that becomes a way of life.