In the hills of northeast India, where rainforest paths can lead to sudden encounters with elephants, tigers, or rhinos, three Carmelite priests travel tirelessly to reach their flock.
The parish of Koilamati, entrusted to the Carmelite Fathers since 2009, stretches across 50 villages.
Sixteen of these are home to Catholic communities who rely on the priests not only for Sunday Mass but also for the sacraments during the week, visits to the sick and dying, and day-to-day encouragement.
Life in this corner of Assam is marked by hardship. The 20,000 inhabitants, mostly from the Karbi tribe and other ethnic minorities, survive as small farmers, woodcarvers, or sellers of handmade textiles.
Many families manage no more than two meals of rice and vegetables a day. Child mortality is high, and diseases such as malaria remain common.
Reaching the villages has always been a challenge. The terrain is mountainous, the roads are poor, and many settlements lie high in the hills.
For years, according to the Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the priests relied on two old motorcycles, “completely worn out and damaged through years of use.” After repeated repairs, they had reached “the limit of their usefulness.”
With their old vehicles beyond repair, the priests turned to their provincial superior, Father Xavier Jayaraj, who sought outside assistance.
ACN responded with funding worth $1,266, enough to provide two new motorcycles for Koilamati’s Carmelite mission.
In his letter to ACN, Father Xavier expressed his gratitude, saying that “only a powerful motorcycle can cope with these difficult tracks in order to reach the people whom God has entrusted to their pastoral care.”
“Thank you for your love and your understanding for our difficulties, and thank you for meeting our request,” he added.
The missionary priest said the apostolate of the Fathers in Koilami “has been greatly simplified as a result, and now, they can reach the villages much more quickly and spend more time and energy serving the people.”
For the priests of Koilamati, the motorcycles are not just machines but lifelines — allowing them to spend less time navigating dangerous roads and more time walking alongside the people they serve.
