Known as holy mass intentions, these benedictions are recited mostly in the southern state of Kerala, where the majority of India’s Catholic population of 25 million lives, but also in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.
Church authorities said the requests made each month to various dioceses came either directly from the Vatican, local bishops or other religious bodies.
More recently, prayer requests had also started arriving via e-mail, a sign of the increasing popularity of information technology even in the ecclesiastical realm.
They also come with an offering of US$5 (Dh18.4) each, between three and four times the amount locals pay for the same prayer, resulting in the prayers being called “dollar masses” by Indians.
There‘s nothing strange about that. Legitimate missions-support ministries in Europe ask donors for mass stipends, which contribute to the support of priests overseas where the Church is struggling financially.
Besides, „Catholics outsource prayers“ – isn‘t that what non-Catholics often think so weird when we ask the saints for intercession?
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