Hindu nationalist Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi honored the memory of the recently deceased Pope Francis during an event on Friday, stating that the late Catholic pontiff “will always inspire me.”
Modi made the remarks during an event in the Indian state of Kerala, home to the largest Christian population in the country. Christians in Kerala believe that they were among the world’s first people to be evangelized outside the Holy Land when Saint Thomas visited the southern Indian region and began spreading the Gospel.
Modi acknowledged this history in his remarks — a larger speech to inaugurate a seaport in the state — praising Kerala’s community for being “the land of harmony and tolerance.” His comments were a stark contrast to the violent persecution faced by Christians around the country, often at the hands of Hindu nationalist Modi supporters who reject religious freedom for their co-nationals. Christian persecution experts often highlight cases of Hindu mob violence against Christians nationwide that persist as Modi’s government takes little action to address them.
While doing little to protect Christians at home, and standing accused of exacerbating violence against Christians and other religious minorities by Hindu nationalists, Modi often claims to support religious diversity and tolerance on the world stage. When asked about anti-Christian mob violence in his country, Modi has claimed to be “surprised,” denying that it presents any meaningful threat.
Modi did not mention any concerns about India’s Christians during his remarks on Friday, instead taking a moment to acknowledge the rich history of Christianity in Kerala.
“Our Kerala has been the land of harmony and tolerance. The country’s first church, and one of the world’s oldest churches, St. Thomas Church was built here hundreds of years ago,” Modi told the crowd assembled to dedicate the Vizhinjam International Seaport, according to an Indian government translation.
“We all lost Pope Francis a few days ago. Our Honorable President, Draupadi Murmu ji went there to attend his funeral on behalf of India. Our colleague from Kerala, our minister Mr. George Kurien also went with her,” he noted. “I, too, once again, from the land of Kerala, offer my condolences to all those involved in this grief.”
“Friends, the world will always remember Pope Francis for his spirit of service and his efforts to give everyone a place in Christian traditions,” Modi stated. “I consider it my good fortune that whenever I got the opportunity to meet him, I got the opportunity to talk to him in detail on many topics.”
“I noticed that I always got special affection from him. I had discussions with him on topics like humanity, service, and peace. His words will always inspire me,” Modi recalled.
Vatican City announced the passing of Pope Francis on Easter Monday, April 21, after a months-long battle with respiratory illness. The pope had made a surprise appearance in St. Peter’s Square the day before to celebrate Easter, the holiest celebration in Christianity, and conducted some official duties, such as meeting with Vice President JD Vance. Vance — a Catholic whose wife, second lady Usha Vance, is Hindu — subsequently traveled to India to meet with Modi and visited a Hindu temple while there.
India is a disproportionately Hindu country; nearly 80 percent of the country identifies as Hindu. In comparison, about 2.3 percent of the population is Christian and 14.2 percent Muslim. The Christian population is estimated to be around 34 million people. Indian Christians, the Pew Research Center noted in a 2021 study, “disproportionally identify with lower castes (74%), including 57% with Scheduled Castes (SC) or Scheduled Tribes (ST),” often making them members of multiple marginalized communities.
Much of the Christian population in India is centered in Kerala due to its ancient connections to the faith. Local historians believe that Saint Thomas the Apostle arrived in Kerala in the year 52 AD.
“Then, in 1498, the famous Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama sailed to Kerala to open up the first Europe-India sea route. Imagine his surprise when he found Christians,” Smithsonian magazine observed in 2016. “Two years later, Captain Pedro Álvares Cabral followed, bringing eight Franciscan priests, eight chaplains and a chaplain major. He left a few behind, who introduced the Latin — read Roman Catholic — rite.”
The Indian newspaper The Hindu noted following the passing of Pope Francis this month that India “has more Catholics than Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore combined.”
Modi himself had a much more modern connection to Christianity through his relationship with Pope Francis. The Indian head of government visited the Vatican in 2021 to meet with the pontiff, extending him an invitation to visit India. While Pope Francis accepted, he did not live long enough to schedule the trip. Modi met Pope Francis one last time in June 2024 during the G-7 summit hosted by Italy that year.
Despite Modi’s public respect for Christianity outside of his country, India remains a dangerous place to practice the faith. The humanitarian Christian organization Open Doors ranked India number 11 on its World Watch List of countries that most fiercely persecute Christians in 2025.
“In India, Hindu extremists view all Christians as outsiders and aim to cleanse the nation of Islam and Christianity, often using extensive violence,” Open Doors detailed in its report. “This hostility is often driven by Hindutva, an ongoing Hindu nationalist belief among some extremists that Indians ought to be Hindu — and no other faith will be tolerated.”
“Converts from Hinduism to Christianity face the harshest persecution. They can be pressured to return to Hinduism by family, community, and extremists who conduct reconversion campaigns such as Ghar Wapsi (‘homecoming’),” it noted.
Asked in 2023 at the White House about Christian persecution under his government, Modi said he was “actually really surprised” that anyone would consider his country intolerant.
“Our government has taken the basic principles of democracy. And on that basis, our constitution is made and the entire country runs on that — our constitution and government,” Modi claimed. “We have always proved that democracy can deliver. And when I say deliver, this is regardless of caste, creed, religion, gender. There’s absolutely no space for discrimination.”