Pope Francis has been facing severe health challenges in recent weeks. The 88-year-old pontiff was admitted to Rome’s Agostino Gemelli Hospital after struggling with breathing difficulties caused due to a bout of bronchitis coupled with other ailments. As the global Christian leader’s health deteriorates, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiya made a sarcastic comment that Indian pastors who claim to possess miraculous healing powers should rush to Vatican City to pull out Pope Francis from his misery with their “Hallelujah miracle”.
Taking to X on 23rd February, “Raja Bhaiya” said, “Christian religious leaders in India, who perform miracles by deceiving tribals and the uneducated with ‘Hallelujah’, should go together to Vatican City and heal the Pope, who is struggling between life and death, by laying their hands on his head. Anyway, the Pope has been in a wheelchair for a long time and is now admitted to the hospital in a very serious condition; he urgently needs a ‘Hallelujah’ miracle,” Singh posted.
आदिवासियों और अशिक्षितों को ‘हालेलुइया’ का झांसा देकर करिश्मा दिखाने वाले भारत के ईसाई धर्मगुरुओं को चाहिए कि एक साथ जाकर वाटिकन सिटि में जीवन-मरण के बीच जूझ रहे पोप के सिर पर हाथ फेर कर उन्हें ठीक कर दें।
— Raja Bhaiya (@Raghuraj_Bhadri) February 23, 2025
वैसे भी पोप लंबे समय से wheel chair पर हैं और अब अस्पताल में काफ़ी गंभीर…
Not only the BJP MLA but several netizens have also been discussing and posting memes about why the “Bolne Lagi” fame Pastor Bajinder Singh and other such Indian Pentecostal pastors who claim to possess miraculous healing powers so much so that they boast of curing critical illnesses like cancer, paralysis, and even raising the dead, are not using their ‘supernatural powers’ to heal the Pope.
Social media’s sarcastic imploration to India’s Pentecostal Pastors to ‘heal’ Pope Francis
One X user said that Pope Francis’s already Christian status might disqualify him from Pastor Bajinder’s ‘miracles’ which are reserved for conversion prospects. He X user wrote, “Had Pope been a non-Christian, Pastor Bajinder would have cured him. Unfortunately, He is already a Christian so medical miracles won’t work.”
Had Pope been a non christian, Pastor Bajinder would have cured him
— Kaali Goli (@darkandcrude) February 23, 2025
Unfortunately, He is already a Christian so medical miracles won't work https://t.co/0fsYHz5bGL
Another one wrote, “Please ask Pastor Bajinder from Punjab in India to come and miracle-heal the Pope. He’s been making the lame walk, the blind see, etc.”
Please ask Pastor Bajinder from Punjab in India to come and miracle-heal the Pope. He's been making the lame walk, the blind see, etc. Sample this: https://t.co/YKXwpb0hdv #fraud #christianity #soulharvesting
— Rahul Dewan (@RahulDewanV2) February 22, 2025
One Basant Bhoruka sarcastically suggested Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to escort Pastor Bajinder Singh to Vatican to heal Pope Francis and wrote, “Pastor Bajinder of Punjab has cured hundreds from critical illness within seconds…Pope is critical & on a ventilator…@BhagwantMann and @ArvindKejriwal should take him to The Vatican and get the @Pontifex treated immediately or stop others from getting his treatment…”
Pastor Bajinder of Punjab has cured hundreds from critical illness within seconds…
— Basant Bhoruka 🇮🇳 (@SecularTweeteer) February 23, 2025
Pope is critical & on ventilator…@BhagwantMann and @ArvindKejriwal should take him to The Vatican and get the @Pontifex treated immediately or stop others from getting his treatment… pic.twitter.com/4146Hwh4QK
Another X user wrote, “Modern medicine is not working for Pope Francis. He needs Miracle Healer Prophet Bajinder Singh more than ever. But he is busy healing Indians. Can someone please send him to the Vatican & save the Pope?”
Modern medicine is not working for Pope Francis. He needs Miracle Healer Prophet Bajinder Singh more than ever.
— Incognito (@Incognito_qfs) February 20, 2025
But he is busy healing Indians.
Can someone please send him to Vatican & save Pope? 🥺🥺 pic.twitter.com/RfdqgoRC4I
One “Meme Farmer” shared some AI-generated images of Pope Francis playing various sports and wrote, “If Pastor Bajinder and Pastor Ankur Narula were to treat Pope Francis instead of doctors in Europe.”
If Pastor Bajinder and Pastor Ankur Narula were to treat Pope Francis instead of doctors in Europe pic.twitter.com/ft1GsXCzAG
— Meme Farmer (@craziestlazy) February 19, 2025
Social media is replete with sarcastic posts, memes and comments with many sharing videos of Pastor Bajinder’s theatrical healings dramatized with loud ‘Yesu Yesu’ type music and people quivering and making weird faces implying that somehow, the Christian pastors chanting are healing them or extracting evil out of their bodies even though their cheap acting inadvertently divulges the untold reality.
Changai Sabhas, curing paralysis with a touch of DVD, reviving the dead by screeching gibberish and more: The ridiculous but disturbing tactics used by Christian missionaries in India
Beyond the memes and sarcasm, the issue of Christian pastors using ridiculous tactics that create a façade of magical healing in the minds of gullible people who ultimately fall victim to these theatrics and convert to Christianity is a serious threat to India’s demography and religious balance. These threats warrant a serious discussion on what tactics the fraudulent Christian missionaries use to lure Hindus, Sikhs and other non-Christians into Christianity.
Many Christian missionaries and fraudulent pastors rely on a blend of spectacle, emotional manipulation, and exploitation of the desperation and vulnerabilities of common people.
Remember the video of a minor boy weeping profusely during a Christian missionary even when Pastor Bajinder asks him if his sister could speak earlier and the boy answers in the affirmative while the Mera Yeshu Yeshu song plays in the background? While the boy last month said that he will no longer be influenced by any pastor, the incident triggered a meme fest on social back in 2021 and the catchword ‘Yeshu Yeshu’ continues to be used to emphasise cheap gimmicks and loud music aid the manipulation of innocent people for conversion agenda.
Notably, Pastor Bajinder alone has over 3.7 million subscribers on YouTube and over a million followers on Instagram and regularly posts videos demonstrating his self-proclaimed healing powers. The controversial pastor runs the ‘Church of Glory’ and ‘Wisdom’ in Punjab, however, he organises healing congregations in other states as well.
In one such post, Bajinder claimed to have cured a dumb and deaf minor boy using his healing powers. His Instagram is replete with such videos from his Changai Sabhas.
Similarly, Pastor Ankur Narula who has over 2.7 million YouTube subscribers also claims to have cured autism and other medical conditions with his ‘hallelujah miracles’. His YouTube channel contains videos of claiming to have a ‘miraculously’ attached retina, healing a pre-mature baby, and curing a woman of Psoriasis skin disease of which there is no cure in modern medical science.
OpIndia reported earlier how a pastor screeched “Ohhhhhh Shakararararar Rararara” and a woman’s failed kidneys were ‘revived’ or rather the pastor and his drama company made it seem like. In another such incident, Pastor Bajinder used the miraculous power granted to him by the beloved Jesus to heal a blind girl.
Similarly, while modern science is yet to find an effective cure for HIV-AIDS, Pastor Bajinder healed a married couple from the ‘Satan’ called AIDS by tapping their head, rubbing their cheeks, and chanting slogans of “Hallelujah”. These ‘miraculous’ healings are conducted through Changai Sabhas (healing congregations).
There are many videos of such pastors and Christian preachers commanding ailments to leave a person’s body in the name of Jesus Christ, conducting dramatic exorcism to ‘ward off devils’, where they stage intense scenes of shouting at supposed ‘evil spirits’, have surfaced on social media. Besides these tactics, the fraudulent pastors also employ physical gestures like blowing air from their mouths or touching people with a DVD, Bible or a Cross—claiming it channels divine powers to cure diseases and fix deformities of handicapped individuals. These theatrics are performed in front of massive, emotionally charged crowds and controlled settings, amplified by loud and catchy music and testimonies from supposed beneficiaries, who are alleged to be planted actors or coerced into giving fake testimonies. This is done to evoke a sense of awe and belief among the gullible attendees and draw them towards converting to Christianity.
The purpose of these ‘Changai Sabhas’ has been to target vulnerable people—poor, sick, desperate and disillusioned people—promising them instant relief where medicine or resources fail. The idea is to subtly push conversion to Christianity as the path to ‘salvation’ and relief from all worldly problems. All this is done to harvest souls for Christianity.
This soul-harvesting tactic, however, involves retaining Hindu, Sikh or tribal manes to blend in culturally and enjoy the benefits including reservations bestowed upon certain caste or tribal groups. The Pentecostal pastors and their teams cater to followers in more conventional ways, openly embracing Punjab’s cultural signifiers—turban, Langar, Tappa, and Gidda—in their sermons.
To harvest souls for Christianity, several Pentecostal pastors exploit India’s socio-economic gaps, targeting poor and marginalised communities with financial inducements, promises of jobs and facilitating marriages, ‘miraculous’ cures for ailments and even foreign residency in some cases. OpIndia has reported many such cases wherein Christian missionaries operated on the modus operandi of offering financial inducements, jobs etc alongside slandering the target’s original religion and revered Gods to deflect them from their original faith and induct them into Christianity.
Money laundering allegations, ‘healings’ gone wrong, and more: Beyond the business of deception and fraud
Beyond the threats of change in demography and religious imbalance, these fake healing congregations and miracles are detrimental for those attending them in the hopes of having their problems solved or getting rid of their diseases. Back in 2022, a 4-year-old girl suffering from cancer died at Prophet Bajinder Singh’s church in Jalandhar’s Tajpur village. The girl’s parents had brought her to Singh’s church after AIIMS doctors gave up on her. The deceased girl’s father revealed how they were asked to pay Rs 15,000 to Rs 50,000 multiple times to Bajinder Singh and yet he failed to revive the girl. The girl’s father alleged that his family was pushed out of the church after the girl’s death. As if this was not inhumane enough, Bajinder Singh’s church allegedly demanded more money from the deceased girl’s family claiming that the pastor would bring her back to life. Back then, the deceased girl’s family had filed a case against Singh.
Bajinder Singh was previously convicted in a murder case and during his time in jail, he converted to Christianity claiming that he experienced miraculous healing. Since 2012, Singh has been practising ‘miracle healing’. There are many other such Punjab-based pastors and ‘faith healers’ including Harpreet Deol, Manohar Singh, and Gurnaam Singh Khera among others.
It must be noted that these healing congregations and soul harvesting are lucrative businesses for such evangelists and missionaries. Back in 2023, the Income Tax Department raided the residences of two Punjab-based pastors Bajinder Singh and Harpreet Deol. The raid came after the Income Tax officers revealed that the pastors have been operating churches under the guise of healing ministries, which are self-styled congregations that accept a significant amount of funding from foreign nations. These are either registered as autonomous religious entities or as societies led by a pastor. Back in 2020, Christian evangelist Ankur Joseph Narula was accused of money laundering and religious proselytization. OpIndia’s detailed report on Ankur Narula and his evangelist activities can be read here.
The question here arises that despite the apparent fraud and exploitation, why do fraudulent evangelists often backed by opaque funding continue to thrive? The supporters of these evangelists often bring up the argument that if the pastors were frauds and targeted only poor, sick and desperate people or specific caste groups, why would rich celebrities including Bollywood actors support them? They, however, overlook the fact that even celebrities are not immune from health crises, insecurities, family issues or the desire to have better career prospects, these factors alongside others draw them to people offering quick fixes. Moreover, in many cases, their endorsements stem from mutual benefit rather than genuine faith. While the celebrity earns goodwill, the evangelists earn credibility and wider audiences (read targets). The celebrities often overlook the exploitative and deceitful methods these faith healers use, and facilitate the business of selling hope.
There is not a single state in India that is not penetrated by some of the other Christian evangelists or missionaries operating with the sole aim of harvesting more and more souls for Christianity, though the intensity of their activities varies.
Political parties and governments also remain nonchalant in acting against these fraudsters given they enjoy the support of their massive number of followers and fear upsetting them. Some ‘secular’ parties even patronise these fraudsters for vote-bank politics. The lack of concrete action has only emboldened the evangelists and missionaries to carry out their conversion activities unabated. These missionaries continue to exploit the societal faultlines and vulnerabilities of common people for their conversion agenda.
Indians outraged over the hypocrisy of Pentecostal pastors
It is essential to understand here that Indians are not hating on Pope Francis or mocking his suffering. Rather the outrage coming across in the form of commentaries and memes stems from the glaring hypocrisy of Pentecostal pastors, who have literally built their empires on divine healings in the name of Christ and yet remain conspicuously silent when a fellow Christian who too the Pope himself needs them or their so-called miraculous powers more than ever. This outrage is not a glee at the Pope’s health but a call-out of the fraudulent miracle industry Christian pastors and missionaries have created and thrived in India, preying on vulnerable people while dodging accountability.
