The parishioners of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Orlem, Malad, one of the largest parishes in the city, ushered a quiet revolution in the wake of World Environment Day June 5. June 8 saw the first shroud burial take place at the graveyard of this century old church. Henceforth this will be the norm.
As reported by TOI, Parish priest Gilbert De Lima said, “We began this initiative on June 5. All corpses will henceforth be interred only in a shroud. Our cemetery has only 370 temporary graves and 124 family graves for a parish strength of 18,500 which necessitated this move. In fact we had to close the graveyard from September 2014 to October 2015 owing to shortage of space. We had to request relatives to take the remains to Charkop 2km away.” Further, he added, “From then onward, the priests began persuading parishioners to see the wisdom of shroud burials. Fr Larry Pereira, who was parish priest at the time, built vaults so that some of the older remains could be deposited there. That made a few more spaces available to the public. Fr Michael Pinto, who is principal of St Anne’s School attached to our church, emphasized the need to forgo coffins during his mass address. He also gave speeches to the parish council which comprises several smaller groups. Today thanks to the understanding of our parishioners, we have achieved this Goa.”
By this method, corpses are interred only in a shroud, without being encased in a coffin, so that they decompose faster and allow space for future burials. The use of heavy coffins delays the natural process. Both Christian and Muslim cemeteries citywide are facing a keen shortage of space for fresh burials.
Source: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com
