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Father Stan Swamy’s family to watch his funeral online
Following his funeral, the family will hold a special mass at the local church in the village in his memory. They were denied permission to hold a procession due to Covid-19 norms
Father Stan Swamy’s family in Viragalur village in Tamil Nadu’s Trichy district will watch his funeral live on the YouTube page of St Peter’s Church Bandra at 4pm on Tuesday.
The house where Father Swamy grew up was built in 1890. His 89-year-old older brother, Irudayaswamy, and his wife live there with their children and grandchildren now.
Father Swamy’s 26-year-old grandnephew Benito Prabhu said that the family would watch his funeral at 4pm online. Following his funeral, the family will hold a special mass at the local church in the village in his memory. They were denied permission to hold a procession due to Covid-19 norms.
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“His wish was that his last rites should be in Ranchi,” said Prabhu. “He informed us so when he visited us in 2016. He wasn’t sure how long he would live because of his age and ill health. So, his ashes will go to Ranchi but his body will not be handed over to us due to the pandemic.” The family is coordinating with Joseph Xavier, the current director of Bengaluru-based Indian Social Institute, a Jesuit centre, for his last rites. They have been in touch with Xavier since Father Swamy’s arrest in October 2020 by the National Investigation Agency under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his alleged role in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence. “We hope they allow for his things from his Ranchi home to be sent to us,” Prabhu said. “He didn’t have too many things anyway.”
Swamy, 84, who had Parkinson’s, among other health issues, died at a hospital on Monday while waiting for bail. “One of our relatives saw Sun News (a Tamil news channel) and called us. That’s when we switched on the TV and found out before we received official information,” said Prabhu. Relatives and villagers have been coming to their ancestral home since the news of his death, he said.
