EDITOR’s NOTE: Sponsored by the Communications Committee of the International Association of Religion Journalists (IARJ), Stories from our Members is a new feature aimed at sharing the IARJ’s Members stories on faith and religion. 

A devotee in the Basilica of the Holy Rosary, in Kolkata, India. Photo credit: Priyadarshini Sen

Independent journalist and IARJ Board member Priyadarshini Sen takes us to East India with her latest story for Religion News Service.

On the outskirts of Kolkata, the Basilica of the Holy Rosary attracts thousands of Christian, Hindu and Muslim pilgrims seeking what they call the power of the divine feminine from the Virgin Mary. 

The historic Catholic church, locally known as the Bandel Church, was declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1988 and it is a unifying cultural monument for the devotees today.

Read the full article:

In East India, a Marian shrine draws in Christian, Hindu and Muslim pilgrims 

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Elisa Di Benedetto, a religion journalist and IARJ web editor, writes this feature on behalf of the IARJ Communications Committee. If you wish to see your work in Stories from our Members, email Elisa Di Benedetto at [email protected]