The author of this book, Christian Mission and Service in Western India: Contribution of Bombay-Poona Jesuit Mission (1914-1962), presents a special chapter in the history of Mission in India in 20th century. It’s about the German Swiss Jesuits who founded the Bombay-Poona Mission, soon after the end of the first World War. This history covers up to the Second Vatican Council, which marks a remarkable period of mission engagement of the Catholic Church in the western part of India.
It is noteworthy, that this part of the history of the Catholic mission of Poona Province was written as a doctoral thesis, not by a foreigner, but by an Indian himself and hence the Indian cultural and religious nuances are retained well, and receive a higher quality treatment.
I was extremely pleased that this work is now also available in print and is therefore easily accessible to the public instead of being confined in university libraries in Europe. I believe that this book not only helps Indian Catholicism to recognize its own past a little better, but it could also help the interested reader, regardless of religion, to understand Catholicism and mission of the Jesuits better.
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Kriegbaum SJ, Leopold-Franzens-University, Innsbruck (Austria)
Late Cornelius Ekka (1969-2017) hailed from Jashpur, Chhattisgarh and was a member of the Madhya Pradesh Province of the Society of Jesus. After his ecclesiastical studies in Philosophy (BPh) and Theology (BTh), he was ordained a priest in 2004. He did his Masters in Theology (MTh) from Vidyajyoti College of Theology, Delhi and pursued his doctoral studies in Christian History at the Faculty of Theology, Leopold-Franzens-University, Innsbruck, Austria. He was awarded PhD in 2017. He was a faculty member of Vidyajyoti College of Theology, Delhi (2010-17) where he taught Church History. A student of Christian History, he has published a few articles and attended Christian History conferences. A very promising scholar, his life was sadly cut short by a massive heart attack on October 17, 2017 shortly after he resumed his full teaching career at Vidyajyoti College of Theology, Delhi.
Publisher’s Note
Foreword and Tribute
Acknowledgements
List of Tables
List of Photos/Illustrations
List of Maps
Abbreviations
Maps
Introduction
Christian Missions in India: An Overview of Jesuit Missions
by Jose Kalapura
Chapter 1: Tracing the History of Bombay-Poona Mission
Chapter 2: The Travails of a Mission during Two World Wars: An Overview
Chapter 3: Methods, Strategies, Priorities and Options of the Mission
Chapter 4: Collaborators, Co-workers and Helpers in the Mission
Chapter 5: Obstacles and Challenges
Chapter 6: New Ventures in Missionary Service: Changing Orientations and Thrusts
Chapter 7: Poona Jesuits and National Contributions: Establishing All-India Institutions
Chapter 8: Some Moot-Points and Contemporary Contentious Issues
Chapter 9: Evaluation and Conclusions
Chapter 10: Epilogue: A Retrospect and A Prospect. From Traditional Mission to ‘Faith-Justice’ Mandate
Bibliography
Thematic Index
- D’Souza, Rinald. “Cornelius Ekka. Christian Mission and Service in Western India: Contribution of Bombay-Poona Jesuit Mission (1914-1962). New Delhi: Jesuit Conference of India; Christian World Imprints, 2021. Lxiii+ 616 Pp. ISBN 9789351485100.” Archivum Historicum Societatis Iesu XC, Fasc. 179, no. 1 (2021): 158–62.
