- 26 September, 2026
JAMMU, September 26, 2026: A call to rediscover the Gospel through service, fraternity, peace and solidarity with the poor marked the 64th Regional Catholic Council held at Maitri Bhawan, Jammu.
The council brought together bishops, priests, religious and lay leaders from the dioceses of Jammu-Srinagar, Chandigarh, Delhi and Jalandhar. It was held on the theme “Go and Rebuild My Church” as part of the Jubilee Year commemorating the 800th anniversary of the Transitus of St Francis of Assisi.
Bishop Ivan Pereira of Jammu-Srinagar welcomed the participants. Bishop Sahay Thomas Thadeus of Chandigarh, Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi and Bishop Jose Sebastian of Jalandhar also attended the gathering.
Sr Dhanya FCC, Vice Provincial, delivered the keynote reflection on “St Francis of Assisi: A Gospel-Centred Vision for a Church in Renewal.” The session was moderated by Fr Mathew Palachuvattil of the Diocese of Jalandhar.
Reflecting on the life of St Francis, Sr Dhanya said he responded to the challenges facing the Church in his time not through rebellion or confrontation, but by allowing the Gospel to transform his own life.
For Francis, she said, the starting point was the question: “Lord, what do you want me to do?”
She recalled Francis' understanding of his call to rebuild the Church. Rather than creating a separate community outside the Church, he sought to live the Gospel with simplicity and complete commitment.
Referring to Francis' renunciation of his former life before the Bishop of Assisi, Sr Dhanya described him as “a radical, not a rebel.” His radicalism, she said, was rooted in Christ and expressed through poverty, peacemaking, fraternity and care for creation.
She challenged the participants to examine whether the Church's institutions and structures are places where genuine fraternity is experienced and whether the poor occupy a central place in pastoral ministry.
“Can we allow the poor to change us?” she asked.
Drawing on Gaudium et Spes, she encouraged the gathering to reflect on the Church's relationship with people on the margins and its responsibility towards those who are vulnerable and excluded.
Sr Dhanya also cautioned against two extremes: blind institutionalism and individualistic reform. The Franciscan approach, she said, points instead to a life rooted in Christ, community and service.
Francis' commitment to peace was another major theme of the reflection. Sr Dhanya invited priests and pastoral leaders to consider their role as peacemakers, asking: “Can a priest be a peacemaker in a divided parish?”
She described the Gospel as the source and path of Francis' mission, calling participants to return to Christ, stand with the poor, strengthen fraternity and deepen their relationship with creation.
“Renewal begins with Christ,” she said, adding that it also begins with service, reaching out to the marginalised, living as brothers and sisters, and allowing Christ to become visible through one's life.
The reflection concluded with the spirit of Francis' lifelong commitment to the Gospel: to recognise that the mission is never complete and to begin again with humility, faith and service.
By Catholic Connect Reporter
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