RANCHI, India (UCAN) — Hindus outnumbered Christians to celebrate the birth anniversary of Father Camille Bulcke, a Jesuit missioner who gave common people easier access to religious texts of both communities.

File photo of Jesuit Father Camille Bulcke, who helped Christians and Hindus in India appreciate their religious texts

Father Bulcke made Bible stories and the great Hindu epic Ramayana easy for common people to understand, Nalini Purohit, a scholar in the Hindi language, told a function on Sept. 1. The date marked 100 years since the missioner’s birth.

Around 2,000 people, mostly Hindus, attended two functions in Ranchi, capital of Jharkhand state, to mark the occasion.

St. Xavier’s College and the Camille Bulcke Research Centre, both based in Ranchi, jointly organized the events.

Father Bulcke, a Hindi scholar, died in New Delhi in 1982 at the age of 73. He was born at Ramskappelle in what is now West Flanders, Belgium, but spent most of life in Ranchi after arriving in India as a Jesuit seminarian in 1935. He became an Indian citizen in 1951.

His doctoral thesis “Ram katha utpati aur vikas” (Ram’s story: origin and development) is considered one of the best commentaries on the Sanskrit-language Ramayana. Other popular works include a Hindi translation of the Bible that Churches in northern India still use and a 40,000-word English-Hindi dictionary published in 1968.

Purohit, a Hindu and one of the Catholic priest’s former research students, pointed out that Hindus revere Father Bulcke’s “Ram katha” in the same way Christians respect his Hindi Bible.

Another speaker, Bhupendra Kalasi of Magadh University, hailed Father Bulcke as a maharishi (great sage) whose scholarship brought him international recognition. Although born in Belgium, he was a “jewel of India,” she said.

Pramod Kumar Singh of Bihar University, chief guest at the Sept. 2 seminar, said generations would remember Father Bulcke for promoting the Hindi language. The missioner gave a “new definition” to the story of Ram and taught people to become ethically upright, he added.

Hindi novelist Mahua Manjhi told UCA News many embassies today use the priest’s Hindi-English dictionary, which has become the “most authentic” reference book for people dealing with the two languages.

Jesuit Father Mathias Dungdung, director of the Camille Bulcke Research Centre, showing Father Bulcke’s English-Hindi dictionary and “Ram katha“

According to Jesuit Father Mathias Dungdung, director of the research center named after Father Bulcke, the scholarly priest respected and studied all religions. He acknowledged that the missioner’s contributions to Hindi made him more popular among Hindus than among Christians.

“For Christians he is just another great missionary, whereas Hindus keep his name alive,” the researcher told UCA News on Sept. 4. He noted that Father Bulcke’s popularity among Hindus has increased greatly since his death.

Father Dungdung said Father Bulcke’s works have reached millions of people in India and overseas. Four editions of his “Ram katha” have been published since it first appeared in 1950.

“It is out of print at present and people want a fifth edition,” he added.

The priest, 83, explained that the Ranchi-based Jesuits opened the research center with 8,000 books they found in Father Bulcke’s personal library after his death. Since then its collection of books has reached 15,000.

The center’s director said it plans to conduct essay and poetry competitions, seminars, cultural programs and other activities to honor Father Bulcke’s birth centenary.