A small village Jamgain, nestled some 25 kms away from Ranchi in the Jharkhand state in eastern India, celebrated Fr Constant Lievens Day on Sunday (March 17). Jamgain comes under Hulhundu Parish. His Excellency Telesphore Bilung, SVD, the auxiliary bishop of Ranchi celebrated the Holy Eucharist.
This special is observed every year to mark the anniversary of the arrival of Fr. Constant Lievens, SJ who came at Jamgain on March 19, 1885 and stayed for six months and worked in Chota Nagpur plateau, which covers much of the Jharkhand state, for seven years.
Born in Moorslede, Belgium to a large rural Flemish family (six sisters and four brothers), Constant Lievens did his high school studies and philosophy in the Minor Seminary of Roeselare (1870-1877) before starting a first year of theological training at the seminary of Bruges.
India Calling
A strong desire to become an overseas missionary led him to ask for admission in the Society of Jesus (1878). As soon as the two-year novitiate spiritual training ended, he was sent to India to complete his theological training in Asansol (West Bengal).
Lievens was ordained priest in Calcutta (now Kolkata) on January 14, 1883. Central India (the Chota Nagpur Plateau) was then opening up to missionary work and Lievens was sent to the area in 1885. After a few months of preliminary contacts and study of the language and customs of the Munda people Lievens settled in a hut at Torpa, a large village 60 km south of Ranchi (today’s capital city of the Jharkhand state).
What he discovered in Torpa was a disheartening situation of forced labour, acute indebtedness and systematic land exploitation. He understood that to speak of Christ and of the Gospel made little sense and purpose if the Mundas were not first re-established in their basic rights and human dignity.
He began gathering information on the tribal customary law and started defending in the English colonial courts the rights of those whose land had been taken away by deceit. In particular, he succeeded in having the English magistrates accept that the non-written customary law be taken into consideration when dealing with tribal cases. Repeated successes at the “white man” court of justice won him the heart of the Mundas who saw in him a “saviour” and started accepting Christianity. Many asked and received baptism. A large conversion movement was set into motion. If in 1886 the number of Christians in the area was only 2,700, two years later they were already 15,000 baptized and some 40,000 catechumens.
Lievens was overwhelmed by the requests for court help as well as by the evangelization work that had to follow. Other missionaries were sent to support him in his task. His own rural background made him understand without difficulty how much land was an important factor in the self-dignity and identity of the tribal populations of the Chota Nagpur plateau, in particular the Mundas, Oraons and Kharias.
After having being appointed as director of the mission, he shifted residence to Ranchi (1888-1892), the district headquarters, from where coordination of missionary activities (justice and social work, education and evangelization) was easier done. Christians were then numbering 73,000.
Illness and Death
Suffering from tuberculosis, he was sent by doctors to the mountains of Darjeeling (end of 1891), but the urgency of the work – and disquieting news of apostasies – brought him hurriedly back to the Chota Nagpur where he again spent himself without counting. He baptized, in a few months, some 12,000 people in the Barway area (1892). A serious relapse forced him to stop definitively. His religious superior sent him back to Belgium to recuperate. It was too late. In spite of medical care, the situation worsened and Lievens died in Leuven on November 7 1893.
The celebration at Jamgain on Sunday, March 17 began with procession and Rosary from Ghutia. During the celebration His Excellency reminded faithful to learn from the life of Fr. Lievens to live our lives for the service of other. The purpose of our life is to help the needy.
The special choir was led by Fr. Angelus Ekka, Mr Deepak Toppo and their team.
Fr. Oral Bryse, Fr. Hubert Beck the parish priest of Hulhundu Parish, Fr. Eustas Xalxo, Philip Minj, Fr. Bruno Xalxo, Fr. Chonhas Tigga, Fr. Roshan Tiru, Fr. Gulshan, Fr. Annand Bhengra, Fr. Cajitan Fr. Erenius , Fr. Binay Kerketta Cocelebrated. Sr. Emerencia, Sr. Ignatia, DSA Sisters, SCJM Sisters, VDP sisters and others nuns took part the event.
Mr Telesphore Minj (Jamgain unit president), Mr Simon Tiru, Mr Rajen Tiru, Mr Jogia Toppo, Anita Surin, Mrs Ursella Tiru, Mrs Florencia Lugun.
Over thousand people participated in the Livens’ day. The celebration concluded with lunch.