San Thome Cathedral to be part of nationwide prayer service. Churches to pray for relief from pandemic.

The Catholic Church in India will hold a one-hour National Prayer Service on Saturday, August 7, from 8.30 to 9.30 pm, in view of the difficult times that the people are going through on account of Covid and to pray as one family for the health of the world.

As part of this service, prayers will also be said at the Cathedral in San Thome and will be part of the nationwide, online religious event.

The prayer-chain will be conducted from the tombs of St. Thomas, St. Francis Xavier and St. Teresa of Kolkata and from the Marian basilicas of Bandra (Mumbai), Sardhana (Meerut), Hyderabad, Shivajinagar (Bangalore) and in Vailankanni in Tamil Nadu.

This special Prayer Service will be telecast on Catholic satellite television channels.

Rev. John Rodrigues, Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay, along with the choir members, will sing the opening hymn from the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount, Bandra, Mumbai.

Then, the initial part of the prayer will be recited from the tomb of St. Thomas, at the San Thome Cathedral Basilica, Chennai by Rev. George Antonysamy, Vice President, CCBI and archbishop of Madras-Mylapore.

Prayers and choir singing at other centres across India will continue.