ASIA/NEPAL - Great joy for 60 newly baptized during the Easter Vigil

Kathmandu (Agenzia Fides) - "We are preparing ourselves to live an atmosphere of great joy to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord. For our small Catholic community this is the biggest feast, and this year about 60 people will be Baptized during the Easter vigil": This is what Fr. Pius Perumana, Pro-Vicar Apostolic of Nepal said in an interview with Fides Agency.
"The catechumens have lived a time of great expectations for the day in which they will become full members of the Church. They prepared themselves for Easter with strong moments of repentance, fasting and prayer during Lent" he says. "In all the parishes of the Kathmandu valley we experienced an intense Lenten journey, with moments of spiritual retreat and significant initiatives of solidarity and help towards the poor", he says.
Easter in Nepal is a time of great joy and also of "public witness": "Christian communities celebrate Easter, all over the country, not only with the celebrations in churches, but also with parades and public events of joy to announce the beauty of faith, Christ's victory over death and the certainty of eternal life" says the pro-Vicar to Fides.
Christians in Nepal have enjoyed greater religious freedom since 2008, when the Hindu monarchy was abolished and the country became a republic. According to information sent to Fides by the Apostolic Vicariate, Catholics in Nepal are about 8,000, while the Christians are a total of 7% out of a population of about 30 million inhabitants. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 16/04/2014)