Peru donates statue of St. Rose of Lima to church in India

The Peruvian embassy in India has donated a statue of St. Rose of Lima, Peru’s patron saint, to St. Dominic Parish in New Delhi.

According to the Efe News Agency, Peru’s ambassador to India, Javier Paulinich, said the presence of St. Rose at the parish located in southern section of the Indian capital “conveys the faith of the Peruvian nation to this nation” and “unites” them.

Paulinich noted that although Hinduism is the religion of the majority in India and Catholics make up only three percent – 36 million – of the population, the number of Catholics in the country far exceeds the number in Peru, which has a total population of 29 million.

Dominican Father John Kusumalayam, who celebrated Mass for the Peruvian delegation at the Parish of St. Dominic, told Efe that since St. Rose of Lima was herself a member of the Dominican Order, it was a great joy to have the statue in the parish.

The Peruvian embassy in India previously donated a painting of St. Martin de Porres to the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in New Delhi in May of 2010.

“Both Peru and India are developing countries where there is still poverty, and consequently we are dedicated to eradicating it, which requires social justice – a task that unites our two countries,” Paulinich said.