Background

In the sixteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church began to influence and control sections of India with Portuguese leadership. However, in northwest India it was the British who introduced the Roman Catholic Church to the people. This was done primarily through orphanages, convents, and educating the people. In other parts of India the dreaded Inquisition was ferocious upon the natives, forcing them to convert or loose their land, be tortured, or be burned at the stake. The British did not practice these excesses. The Roman Church was not forced upon the people in northwest India.

Bombay

The huge city of Bombay (now called Mumbai) is a region overwhelmed with Hindu temples and shrines. The British introduced Roman Catholic priests primarily to serve the English families that moved to the area. It was not a difficult thing for Roman Catholic theology to be accepted in northwest India. The people already had thousands of gods. To add the Christian God and Mary as a type of goddess was not a traumatic event. In fact, devotion to the Virgin Mary today in Bombay is practiced alongside various Hindu gods. For example, on the large concrete partitions that separate Bombay from the harbor there are painted many Hindu gods and goddesses. Mary is painted among them. In the banks, tellers have images of their favorite Hindu gods on their desks, and Mary is often one of them. And when someone looks over the landscape of Bombay, you would see hundreds of spires from Hindu temples, a few minarets from Moslem mosques, and the huge Mt. Mary Church steeples. But the Jesus and Mary of the Bible are nowhere to be found. Surat

Heading north from Bombay is the large city of Surat. Here is an example of how the British promoted the Roman Church and encouraged devotion to the Virgin Mary. Their approach to venerating Mary is subtle and humble. Because of the large numbers of Hindu idols, the Catholic strategy is to sanitize its own idolatry. This is done in such places as the Lourdes Convent School, where both education and devotion to the apparitions of Mary coincide. At the St. Xavier School, dedication to Mary is quiet, simple, and refined. Here there is no large idol to Mary easily seen on the campus. Instead, a careful observer notices the small bronze plaque on the principle's door showing veneration of Mary as the "Mother of God." Both schools have various idols, icons, and fetishes to Mary inside their chapels, hidden from public view. Rome has adapted to this idolatrous culture by privately refining its own idolatry.

Rural Villages in the State of Gujurat

The Roman Church has had little influence on rural India. Yet even far from the metropolitan centers, there is occasionally a Roman Catholic presence. And where Rome is present, Mary is worshipped. About 50 miles from Surat is the small town of Vyara. Then 15 miles into the jungle is the tiny rural village of Ghachikuva. In this remote village stands a bamboo and mud Roman Catholic church. This typical village building stands about 30 feet by 40 feet, with a dirt floor, no electricity, and no chairs. Inside this dark and primitive building there is only one item that shows it is a church building. Along the rear wall is a framed picture of the Virgin Mary, with two small candles to illuminate the shrine. There is nothing else. To those who worship in this hut, Mary is everything.

A visit to a private Roman Catholic home outside Vyara shows the place of Mary in the hearts of some rural villagers. In this bamboo and mud house shared by both people and livestock there hangs a European style picture of the Virgin Mary. This icon is in the central portion of the home, hanging above and overlooking the family. Her right hand is on her so-called immaculate or sinless heart, which radiates heavenly light. Her left hand is uplifted, dispersing grace to he world. This is the mariolatry taught by the British Roman Catholic priests. Mary was and is the key person. She is the center and focus of Catholic spirituality, These former Hindu people easily accepted another goddess into their lives. Her name is the Virgin Mary.

Jaipur

The cosmopolitan and somewhat European city of Jaipur represents a good example of the subtlety in which Roman Catholic doctrines related to Mary are promoted. A bold and extravagant idolatry towards Mary would become absorbed and overwhelmed by the hundreds of guru shrines in this large city. Instead, Rome promulgates veneration of the "Mother of God" through private and personal adoration done primarily through educational institutions.

The St. Xavier School of Jaipur is a typical example of how Rome encourages Mariolatry in northwest India. From the outside of the campus, there are no examples of Roman Catholic images or artwork. However, once the visitor enters the compound, the true heart of Roman Catholic adoration of Mary becomes evident. By the sidewalk on the way to the chapel is a large outside shrine devoted to Mary. This idol is enclosed by glass set in a large fieldstone altar, surrounded by lit candles and flowers presented in acts of worship towards the image. From a distance, it looks identical to a Hindu shrine.

Inside the chapel of the St. Xavier School there are several icons or images consecrated to devotion towards the Virgin Mary. In the rear comer of the chapel there is a three foot high idol to Mary robed in an Eastern Orthodox style garment, crowned as Queen of Heaven, with roses spread at her feet by those in adoration of this image. In the other rear comer of the auditorium there are two icons to be used as aids in worship of God through Mary. One is a small Portuguese style Fatima image, showing Mary robed in royal garments, holding the world in her left hand while dispersing the grace of God to all her followers with her right hand. The other icon is a Byzantine style painting of Mary as Queen, holding the infant Jesus while angels adore her as the Mother of God. The final image to Mary in the St. Xavier School chapel is a small European style idol to Mary, next to the front altar. Her arms are opened, ready to receive all people unto herself.

New Delhi

Both Delhi and New Delhi constitute one of the largest cities in the world. Here it would appear that the Roman Church has had little influence. Yet, upon closer examination, it is clear that devotion and adoration towards Mary is alive and well. The College of Jesus and Mary is a typical example of how Catholics have attempted through education to promote the teachings of the Church of Rome. From the outside, the campus in neat, simple, and religiously neutral. Inside the enclosed compound a visitor is first greeted by a large marble idol of the Virgin Mary. The garland of red roses around her neck is a typical Indian way of greeting. The symbolism is clear. Mary welcomes all people to herself. To get to Jesus, we must first pass through her.

A beautiful representation of British devotion to Mary in India is seen in the Sacred Heart Cathedral in New Delhi. This magnificent brick structure, built around 1800, has two huge towers that can be seen all around the city. In and around this impressive cathedral are six shrines consecrated to Mary. The first image is seen immediately upon entering the cathedral. A five foot high statue of Mary wrapped in traditional Indian dress, called a sari, welcomes visitors. Candles burn before the idol which represents Mary as the mother of all Indians. The second shrine is in the form of an icon, presenting Mary with an Indian woman's face surrounded by adoring angels in a golden frame and illuminated by small red lights. In the front of the cathedral is the third Marian shrine. This is a simple European style statue of Mary holding baby Jesus, with a hand extended to offer grace unto the world. Numerous candles lit at her feet represent the prayers of those who come to her in prayer.

The remaining three shrines to Mary at the Sacred Heart Cathedral form a circle around a visitor, so that in whatever direction one looks, Mary is present. In the rear of the chapel is a two foot high Fatima style Portuguese idol, showing Mary dressed in the clothing of an Indian woman, with rose pedals and lit candles at her feet. Towards the middle of the chapel is a five foot tall wooded statue of Mary with a broken heart holding a cross and a crown of thorns, offering a rose as a peace gesture to the world. The symbolism of such a statue is evident. To get to Christ we must pass through Mary. The last shrine to Mary at the Sacred Heart Cathedral is outside and to the right of the main building. Here is an altar for consecration to Mary, where all are invited to bow to her idol and pray to her. The inscription below is significant, saying "Mother of God, Pray for us"

Concluding Remarks The Church manifests Mariolatry in diverse ways. In northwest India, devotion to Mary with the pagan names of Mother of God and Queen of Heaven is done in a subtle, sanitized way. Because of the overwhelming Hindu idolatry in India, Rome has had to masquerade its own idolatry in the forms of education and charitable work. Devotion to Mary through private home shrines and secluded altars is a common event for these Indian Roman Catholics. Their veneration of images and icons consecrated to Mary in form and practice is no different from the Hinduism from which the people came.

Roman theology towards Mary has been slowly transplanted into India. Because the British did not use the Inquisition to force the conversion of the Indian people, Rome has not had outstanding success in northwest India. On a large scale, the idolatrous practices of Hinduism have generally not succumbed to the idolatry of the Roman Catholic Church.

The long term plan of the Roman Catholic Church in India is apparent from a visit to the Mt. Mary Church in Bombay. On the enormous skyline of this city, the two steeples of this building dominate the landscape. The property provides a breathtaking view of the Arabian Sea. Here is the venue for the week long Bandra Fair, where people of all religions flock to the church site to seek favor from the one they call "Mother Mary". Hindus, Moslems, Protestants, and Roman Catholics all visit the idol to Mary on the church grounds, where they light candles and pray before the image. This Bandra Fair displays what Rome would like to do not only in India, but worldwide. Rome wants to use Mary as the "Mother" to unite all people to God through the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.

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