First Dalit Archbishop Marampudi Joji of Hyderabad Passes Away
The Hindu
Hyderabad, Aug 28: The Archbishop of Hyderabad and a popular Christian leader, Marampudi Joji, passed away around 6 pm on Friday following a heart attack in his personal chamber in the Bishop's House at Secunderabad.
His personal aides and a few priests present in the house, to their shock, found him dead in his chair. He was 68. Rev. Joji, a hallmark of piety and social service to the poor wherever he worked, leaves behind thousands of admirers all over the State and a large congregation.
His body will be laid to rest in the cemetery at the foot of St Mary's shrine at Gunadala in Vijayawada around 3 pm on Monday as per his wish indicated in a document. This cemetery is the resting place of several early Italian missionaries who worked in this part of the globe.
A spokesman of the Bishop's House said the body would be kept at St Mary's Church, Secunderabad, throughout Saturday and partially on Sunday to enable people pay their respects to him before being shifted to Vijayawada for the funeral. Soon after hearing the news, a large number of people thronged the house for the last glimpse.