Some 50,000 people yesterday attended the funeral of Bishop Vincent Kympat of Jowai, who died of a heart attack on Saturday. Salesian Archbishop Dominic Jala of Shillong, who led the funeral Mass at the Bishop’s House, Jowai, hailed the deceased prelate as a man of the people who worked for a laity-based Church. Bilhan Kympat, the bishop’s elder brother who was staying with him, said he had gone looking for the prelate when he did not turn up for lunch and found him lying unconscious in the bathroom. The priests in the house called a doctor who advised them to shift the bishop to a nearby government hospital. The doctors there declared him dead at 3 pm. He was 64. Father Stephen Francis, diocesan spokesman, said the bishop was keen on forming small Christian communities in parishes. He had been visiting priests and people in remote parishes until three days before his death. “Such visits helped build the Church and empower lay people,” the priest added. Salesian Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil of Guwahati, who led the funeral services at the St. Theresa’s Cathedral, said Bishop Kympat was “very close” to his people. “He was gifted and talented and creative in his suggestions and actions,” he told the gathering. The death, he added, was “a great loss” for the entire Church in northeastern India. Vicar general Simeon Sungoh said the deceased prelate urged his priests to lead a life of transparency, truthfulness and accountability. “He won people’s heart through his dedicated priestly life,” he added. Bishop Kympat was the first bishop of Jowai diocese. He was born in Mawsutong, a remote village in the Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya state to which Christianity reached only a century ago. He began his priestly life as an assistant parish priest and later served as the director of Catechist Training Centre and the Laity Formation Centre in Shillong, the Meghalaya capital.
