Father Godfrey Vilasal Thapo has brought relief to thousands of poor, ailing villagers in northeastern India through his healing hands.

People flock to the 35-year-old Catholic priest wherever he goes in Nagaland state. The Kohima diocesan priest practices traditional Naga massage.

Father Thapo, who maintains a patient registry, has treated about 6,000 people. They come to him with ailments ranging from cancer to snake bites. “I never discourage anyone,” he added.

A member of the Angami Naga tribe, the priest told UCA News he views his healing power as “a gift from God” because he has cured many “hopeless” cases. People often come to him as a last resort, he added.

He manages the Holistic Healing Center at Jalukie in Peren district, 80 kilometers southwest of the state capital of Kohima, which is 2,300 kilometers east of New Delhi.

One of his former patients is Tiala Rutsa, 35, wife of a Baptist pastor. She claims Father Thapo cured her back pain. “The pain has not recurred,” she told UCA News.

Even the educated find the priest’s treatment effective. One such person is F.P. Solo, director of the state’s postal services, whom the priest treated for a slipped disk. “I was able to get up and walk again” after the first massage session, Solo told UCA News.

Father Thapo says Naga tribes have used massage and herbs to cure illnesses for thousands of years. His mother belongs to a family of traditional healers. In his childhood, she introduced him to herbs and the diseases they cured.

His own healing mission began in the seminary, where he would massage seminarians injured while participating in athletics. Soon after his ordination in 2000, his mother became bedridden. Father Thapo massaged her slowly back to health. Word spread and people started coming to see him.

Initially, he depended on traditional Naga healing methods. Later, the diocese sent him to study holistic healing with the Medical Mission Sisters.

“They did not have much to teach me, because they found that I was already practicing what they were teaching,” the priest claimed. However, he used the time to study Chinese and Japanese traditional healing, yoga, acupressure, acupuncture, stress management and other methods.

But beyond methods, Father Thapo credits prayer as playing a crucial role in his healing ministry. He said he often gets hints for treatment when he reads the Bible and confirms these through prayer. He also asks his patients to pray with him. “Whatever I do I surrender it to God,” he said.

The priest also credits prayer with helping him massage people for long hours without tiring. “When I pray, super sensory power comes,” he added. On one occasion two years ago, he recalled, he continuously saw patients for 24 hours without a break. On another occasion, he saw 102 patients in two days.

His healing massage sessions usually last at least half an hour, which time the priest also uses for counseling. He explained that people open up past emotional hurts and bad memories during massage and experience liberation as they feel themselves healed spiritually and physically.

Father Thapo says nearly 80 percent of his patients are women. Asked if he felt embarrassed massaging women, he said suffering does not discriminate on the basis of sex. Neither does he discriminate along sectarian lines.

According to the priest, his bishop views his ministry as a pastoral activity and a charism. Chancellor Father Solomon Vizo confirmed to UCA News that the diocese has recognized Father Thapo’s ministry.

Assisting Father Thapo in that ministry are two trained nurses, three midwives, four local experts and four helpers who prepare herbal medicines, tend an herbal garden and help patients. Initially, he offered his service free, but as his staff increased, he began charging 20 rupees (US$0.40) as a registration fee and 50 rupees for an hour of treatment. The “very poor” pay only the registration fee.

Asked if he faced opposition from medical doctors, the priest replied in the negative. Doctors, he said, “often send their patients to me — I also get things like cotton and bandages from them.”

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