Explore the journey of Catholic missionary healthcare in India, from its colonial origins to today's challenges. This book dives into why missionaries ventured into healthcare, their impact over the years, and the hurdles they face now. Discover the stories of dedication, transformation, and the ongoing quest for relevance. Perfect read for those curious about the intersection of faith and healthcare.

The author has more than 20 years of experience in the field of Hospital Administration and holds PhD in Health Systems Management from TISS, Mumbai. He visited several mission hospitals across India and has studied their history and challenges. Currently he is serving as professor and research guide in the department of Hospital Administration and Associate Director of St. John's Medical College Hospital, Bangalore.

The author Fr. Dr. John Varghese has made a significant contribution to the Church and the Society in India through his book titled The Odyssey of the Catholic Missionary Healthcare in India. This book has a concise presentation of the history of Catholic healthcare and the genesis of the Indian Catholic healthcare. It highlights the development of the healing ministries of the Protestant missionaries in the nineteenth century and of the Catholic Church in the twentieth century. Beyond doubt, this book is a useful manual for the healthcare ministers of India to learn the records of the past and to draw motivation for their future work. The vivid illustrations about the three women stalwarts, namely, Dr. Ida Sophia Scudder, Dr. Anna Dengel and Sr. Dr. Mary Glowery, who made remarkable contributions to the healthcare of Indian population, is truly inspirational and encouraging. The exemplary lives of these women to improve the health of India continue to encourage and motivate the younger generations of healthcare promotors. Finally, the author lists a set of recommendations and pathways of our engagement in healthcare from conception to natural death in the context of emerging challenges and opportunities.

Christianity believes that a human life along with its infinite dignity begins at conception. It has always upheld the sacredness of human life. It emphasizes the basic right of every human being to a decent and dignified life. It has shown care and concern for the last and the least in society. Saint Mother Teresa has been an outstanding champion for the dignity of human life. She is revered for her great zeal and commitment to upholding the dignity of life and she took care of the sick with exceptional passion.

The dual commitment of physicians is to preserve life and to relieve suffering. The Christian healing ministry attempts to restore the quality of life, the value of life and the meaning of life while recognizing the intrinsic worth and dignity of the patient. The patient is at the center of our healthcare service. We focus on the patient as a real person rather than their illness. If we keep the patient at the forefront of our minds and at the center of our hearts, then we will be doing the right thing in our healing ministry. The parable of Good Samaritan exemplifies and reaffirms the dignity of people in need of responsible care. The art of the medicine is not only to restore and preserve health but also to decide when sustaining life is futile, and therefore, when to allow death to occur without further impediments. Physicians are not obliged ethically to preserve life at all costs. There are many occasions when it is appropriate to give death a chance. Palliative care is gaining momentum in accompanying the dying patients.

The healing ministry has been the hallmark of Christian service to humanity. In fact, the future salvation of humans includes the present wellbeing of humans. The healing ministry which works towards the wellbeing of humans is a part and parcel of salvation history. Fr. John rightly points out that the healthcare mission of the church is centered on healing with love in the spirit of Christ and conversion is not the objective of healthcare institutions. The Catholic healthcare organizations, as Kevin O'Rourke authenticates, carry on the healing ministry of Christ in the light of Gospel values of sanctity and dignity of life fostering a holistic healthcare to ensure high-quality healthcare with a preferential option for the poor devoted to social justice and common good under the ethical directives of the Church. Let the healing mandate of Christ continue to restore the health of humans.

The westerners colonized India and one of its many repercussions was the ingress of Modern Medicine into the country. This feat was accomplished by the Christian missionaries who set foot on Indian terrain along with the colonizers. While the locals continued using their indigenous medicines, the efficacy and healing power of the modern medicine against epidemics ensured its wholehearted acceptance and utilization (Basu 2015). The colonizers established their power and expanded their business across the sub-continent. Paradoxically the missionaries among them poured out their heart and soul in services of healing, education and charity for the marginalized and needy. Many local kings and rulers of the pre-independence era sought the expertise and support of the medical missionaries and established healthcare facilities in India (Basu 2015). The concept of healthcare as a form of missionary work gained popularity in India long before independence.

Studies demonstrate the involvement of Christian missionary organizations in providing healthcare services in India for centuries, as well as their collaboration with the national government in the decades immediately following independence (Nundy 2005).

While the government wrestled with scarcity of resources in the post-independence era, it was the missionaries who roped in financial and materialistic support from abroad, for the revival of healthcare services (Baru 1999). Acts of mercy and charity were an indispensable part of their Christian life. However, the last few decades have seen a sharp decline in foreign support and the financial sustainability of mission hospitals is under threat (Baru 1999). The expansion of corporate and other not-for-profit conglomerates pose a grave competition for the mission hospitals. In the meantime, the government healthcare facilities have improved in terms of infrastructure and services. Consequently, people from the lower economic strata and middle class have taken recourse to them. Today the healthcare scenario has undergone such a paradigm shift that the mission hospitals have been forced to cease their ""almost free"" services to the people. This has put their very mission and nature of being ""charitable"" under scrutiny.

In the current scenario, the for-profit players offer luxurious healthcare facilities incorporating high-end technology, modern amenities and international accreditation to cater to the affluent and the insured classes, the public hospitals have improved in terms of infrastructure and offer free investigations and medicines thereby luring the general public, the significance of missionary healthcare organizations is under scrutiny. While the younger generations within the missionaries ponder about their relevance and sustainability, it is befitting for the public to pose questions such as these: (a) What led to the expansion of the presence of Christian missionaries across the country? (b) What have they done for this country in the past? (c) What are they trying to do now? (d) Is conversion to Christianity their major objective? and (e) What would be the way forward for Christian missionary healthcare in the ever-evolving situations?

Studying the Christian missionary healthcare in India would be a herculean task owing to the following reasons: (a) Their beginnings can be traced back to centuries, (b) The organizations and individuals involved are under the patronage of several churches, (c) Documentary evidences of their work are scarce and neither stocked safely, (d) The missionaries rarely documented their work in papers, and (e) the multiplicity of the dimensions of the work done by the church organizations for the poor that healthcare cannot be studied in isolation.

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