Antonette Ronita J

Class : ECE 'E'

I'm here writing about the Mother Mary's feast celebrated in the southern tip of India,
Kanyakumari and the cosmopolitan Bengaluru.
700kms apart yet so much similarity
Completely different languages and yet united by traditions deep rooted from the
tradition of India
A religion inspired from the west yet inspired lakhs of people in the last few centuries
and gave them hope to raise and live life.
 Welcome
to the feast of St
lady of ransom,
Kanyakumari
The Church of our Lady of Ransom
On 31 May 1900 Father John Consolvez laid the
foundation stone for the church. The length of the new
Church is 153 feet, breadth 53 feet, and height is 153 feet.
All these depict the breads of the Holy Rosary. There are
12 towers in the church which depict 12 disciples of Jesus
Christ. Two side towers attached with the main tower act
as belfry containing the church bells which have been
imported from Italy in 1900 AD. The bell was used for
several decades to signal time and warnings in times of
extreme weather conditions to all villages nearby.
 St. Mother Mary’s feast celebrates the birth of
Our Mary's Feast Mother Mary (mother of Jesus Christ) which is on
September 8th and it is celebrated lavishly in all
the basilica’s across the globe. In India, especially
the southern coastal part of India these festivities
go on for 10 days culminating in a grand chariot
procession on the last day.

The festivities begin with the forming of an

organizing committee that manages the festive
season. On the first day of the festival, the
church is illuminated with lights and the
celebration starts with the hoisting of a
traditional flag. The fishermen say it is quite a
sight to watch the fully illuminated church from
deep in the ocean. I am hoping that I get to
witness this beauty at some point in my life.
Generally, Mother Mary's feast is celebrated on
September 8th but in Kanyakumari Mother
Mary's feast is celebrated in the month of
December considering that September is a peak
season for fishing in this region and the majority
of the Catholics belong to the fishing community.
The festival is celebrated for a period of 10 days.

One thing that fascinates me about this entire

festival season is the fact that this festival
involves people from all religions and caste from
the nearby villages. On the first day of
celebration, they take the flag as a procession
and the saree used for draping mother mary is
gifted from a Hindu community. The bishop of
Kottar will hoist the flag followed by a eucharistic
celebration. A theme is set for every evening and
the altar on which the priest delivers the mass is
decorated with flowers to match the theme.
History ofthe
History of Flag Staff
flag staff
The kickoff of the 10 day festival starts with the entire
village gathering for the setting up of the flag hoist. The
history behind this flag staff in itself makes it more
interesting. In 1917 a German merchant ship carrying
coal grounded on the sandy beaches of Kanyakumari
and could not be refloated. Left abandoned and later
was sold at auction to a merchant from Tuticorin, a
port town situated 80kms north of Kanyakumari. The
merchant later donated the iron mast from the ship to
Our Lady of Ransom Church. The fishermen of
kanniyakumari came with their catamarans to the
Leepuram village to take the mast to Kanniyakumari.
When the mast was loaded on the catamarans, the
mast together with all the catamarans sank, and then
began to float. It was later decided to take mast by
road, and it was fitted into a bore hole in a stone
infront of the church. Even to this day, one can the see
watch tower structure originally built for the sails.
Our Mother Mary
Lady of Ransom The people of Kanyakumari were delighted
to combine the name Ransom and call their
patron "Alangara Upakara Matha". The
statue was made in Italy and transported to
India along with the statues of the nearby
churches of Tuitucorin and Puthenthurai.
The statue of mother mary is kept for public
worship only during the September and
December festive season. The divine
mother statue on the occasion of the feast
is decked with gold and stone studded
jewelry and dressed in a special golden
attire referred to as maandhai. The devotion
of the people towards mother mary is
unshakeable. It is clearly visible in the way
people look at her and pray to her kneeling
down with folded hands and closed eyes.
 10 days of the festival attracts lakhs of people

from all neighboring villages and people from all

the religions. People come with lots of prayers

and walk away unburdening all their worries to

mother mary
The vibe of the entire village changes on the 9th and

10th day of the festival. With sweet shops, clothing

stores, toys, game centers the entire village starts

buzzing with activity. The culmination of the feast is

the golden car procession that happens on the 9th

and 10th days of the feasts. The 2 cars, made in the

late 1700 and early 1800 house St.Joseph and Mother

Mary respectively. The car procession on the 10th day,

being the most auspicious in the entire festive season

starts with a morning mass at 4 am. The cars are then

taken through the streets of Kanniyakumari, with

Nadaswaram music troops leading the procession, a

peculiar song sung in praise of Mother Mary with local

people of all ages taking turns in pulling the car while

all of them in one voice chanting "Mariye Madhavey"

("Hail Mother Mary"). Energies running high, prayers

with folded hands, and tears of ecstasy among people

standing by is a sight to watch.

Welcome to the
feast of our
lady of good
health,
Velankanni
 This is the only church in India that is built based on the
apparitions of mother Mary. The church is built based on
the gothic style of architecture. The shrine consists of
three chapels. The building is painted in white except for
the roofs with are in red. The entire church is built in the
form of a Latin cross. A new welcome arch which is
illuminated with light was built by bishop Sundaram.
Mother Mary's first apparition

The first apparition happened in the year

1570 when a Shepard boy was delivering

milk to a nearby house. He saw a beautiful

woman holding a small child in her hand

who asked him for some amount of milk for

the child. The boy had immediately given

her milk and when he went to give milk to

the next house, surprisingly his milk jar was

again filled with fresh milk. Hence a small

shrine was built where the Shepard boy

encountered the lady ( mother Mary). The

location of it is called as " Matha kullam",

which means our lady's pool.

This is the picture of

Matha kullam
Mother Mary's second apparition

The second apparition of mother Mary happened in

the year 1597 when a small boy who wasn't able to

walk was selling buttermilk met a beautiful lady who

was holding a young boy in her hand. The young boy

had asked the lame child for some amount of

buttermilk and he drank it. After this, the lady asked

the boy selling buttermilk to meet gentlemen in the

next town to ask him to build a small chapel in her

honour at the location (Matha kullam). The boy went

to the next town and on his way, he realized that he

was able to walk normally once again. A thatched

chapel was built immediately in that location in

honour of our lady of health which in Tamil is called

as " Arokia Matha".

 Mother Mary's third apparition
The third apparition of mother Mary happened when a Portuguese ship was sailing in the bay of

Bengal sailing from Macao to Sri Lanka was caught in a storm. And that time mother Mary was

known under her title " Star of the sea " they invoked her help for their rescue. Immediately the

storm subsided and 150 men who were on board were saved. In thanksgiving, the sailors built

another shrine and they continued to enhance it whenever they traveled to that area. The shrine

that started was built as a thatched chapel was later built into a parish church

Shrine as a chapel Present parish church

Feast of our lady of health
The celebration of the feast commences on

August 29th and culminating on September

8th. Many parishes are named after her. in

Tamil Nadu. The mother Mary's church in

Besant Nagar, Tamil Nadu is named in her

honour and it attracts thousands of people

during the feast and novena. This is the only

church which lavishly celebrates mother

Mary's feast for eleven days. The feast

commences with the flag-hoisting which is

around 6:30 p.m. it continues with a novena

which is for nine days which culminates on

the day of the feast. For many of the

devotees, the feast begins even before

August 29th as they fast for 40 days to

prepare themselves for the feast day

Preperation for the feast by the devotees

Some of the devotees walk from great distances to

attend the feast. Devotees who are from Chennai walk

from Chennai to Velankanni which is about 300 km, 10

days before the commencement of the feast.

Devotees walk by the road-side by wearing a saffron-

coloured dress to identify themselves. Some prefer to

walk when it is cooler in the night but some prefer to

walk during the day under the blazing sun and meet up

in groups in a particular spot to sleep at nights. Some

sleep along the roadside while a few sleep in the

parish grounds. Some of them walk barefoot which

shows their faith and devotion towards Mother Mary.

Before the feast, many of the devotees come to

Velankanni across India irrespective of religion to get

healed and receive mother Mary's blessings in

whatever work they are going to do.

Flag hoisting ceremony
The festival commences with the flag hoisting on

29th August. The flag is hoisted in the dusk and

is considered to be a ceremonious moment. The

hoisting of the flag is considered to be a sacred

moment as the flag has the picture of mother

Mary on it. When the flag is being hoisted the

crowd sings the song "Mariae vazhga" which

means praise to you mother Mary by raising their

hands high. On the day of flag hoisting, the

streets are flooded with people around the

basilica, and the flag along with the large

decorated statue of mother Mary is taken around

the basilica in a parade before being hoisted. A

new flag is hoisted every day at noon with

fireworks, but the flag hoisting in the evening at

the beginning of the feast is special and it is

indeed a wonderful ceremony to see.

 During the eleven days of the feast, devotees pray the

holy rosary and offer a mass, often donate money. Many

pray as a family by kneeling in front of the altar. Many

pilgrims reach the tank which is also known as Matha

Kullam from the shrine on their knees. Generally in the

month of August, Vellankani is very humid and often

people prefer to go and attend the mass after sunset.

There will be a mass at 12 noon after hoisting the new flag

but the church hall will still be full though it is very humid

at that hour of the day.

Car procession
Though the pace of things never slows down, on September

7th, the eve of the feast it shifts to the next gear. Late in the

afternoon, there is a mass which is celebrated outdoors.

Followed by the mass there is a car procession around the

basilica and through the streets. The car procession makes its

way by featuring the images of Archangel Michael, St

Antony, St Joseph, the Immaculate conception, and our lady

of Mount Carmel, all carried by groups of women. Finally

followed by the other images comes the grandest image of

all, Annai Vellankani which is brightly lit under the starlit sky.

People wait in a line to enroll themselves for carrying the

chariot during the car procession and the church authorities

decide who is eligible to carry the chariot. Young men and

women wait for hours together to get the privilege of

carrying the chariot.

 Men and women who carry the chariot during the car

procession feel united as all people for all the religions

are allowed to carry the chariot to represent that all are

united as one without any difference. There is no feeling

of caste creed or religion during the eleven days of the

feast. September 8th which is the closing day will be

packed with no space to even move around. As there

are four churches in Velankanni mass services happen

every consecutive hour in all the languages. The morning

star church which seats ten thousand people will be

packed even before the mass starts. One can often see

families praying the holy rosary by kneeling in front of

Mother Mary's statue during the mass. At dusk, the feast

culminates by the lowering of the flag. Devotees pray

and praise Mother Mary till the end.

 During the eleven days of the feast according to reports
nearly ten to fifteen lakhs of people visit the shrine and pray
for their health and other problems.
Welcome to the feat of St Mary's
Basilica, Bengaluru
The present Church of St. Mary's was built by Rev. Fr. Kleiner. It

is the oldest church located in Shivaji Nagar, Bengaluru. St

Mary's basilica is a gothic church which is in the form of a

cross built by a French architect. The length of the church is

172 feet and its breadth is 50 feet. The magnificent tower

forming the principal front building of the church is 160 feet

high.

This is an alluring picture of Mother Mary holding child

Jesus in her arms which is set up in front of the church.

The statue is 6 feet in height. The chief objective for

setting up this statue out of the shrine is for veneration

and a source of inspiration for the people. It was said

that many years back people tried to remove this

statute to build a grand altar but the statue was

immovable and it was considered to be a strange

happening.
St Mary Basilica feast
The festival commences with a holy mass at 5:30 a.m.

and there will be a mass at every consecutive hour in

different languages. Devotees will fast for the whole

day and through the Feast, the devotees are found to

be dressed in 'Saffron' clothing to attend the holy mass.

Devotees offer flowers for the decoration of the

chapel, food, and clothing for the poor. As the mass

goes on many devotees pray in the chapel by lighting a

candle for mother Mary. Each day many priests across

India come to offer mass services. The whole church

will be decorated with various lights. Each day the nuns

decorate mother Mary’s statues by draping a different

coloured saree and ornaments. The altar is decorated

with a variety of flowers ( roses, lily, and carnations ).

Each day the altar the lavishly decorated in a different

way.
 Every day around 5 p.m. devotees will gather in the

church campus for the flag hoisting. At 6 p.m. the

bishop of Bangalore archdiocese along with fathers and

nuns will bless the flag in the chapel and come in a

procession to hoist the flag at 6.30 p.m. it is a

spectacular view to see all the devotees standing near

the flag post singing 'Ave Maria' (Praise be to Mary )

during flag hoisting. After this, a grand mass will be

celebrated by the archbishop. The next day afternoon

the flag will be lowered at 3 p.m. and a new flag will be

hoisted at 6.30 p.m. and this event happens on all nine

days followed by a novena and a grand mass. On the

feast day, September 8th fathers and devotees cut a

cake in the church at midnight people gather in lakhs

from different places across India irrespective of caste,

creed, and religion.

Customised
CustomizedChariots
flags
On the feast day, September 8th fathers

and devotees cut a cake in the church at

midnight people gather in lakhs from

different places across India irrespective of

caste, creed, and religion. Throughout

the day people flock in with lighted candles

and flowers to pray to mother Mary. In the

evening at around 5 p.m. there is a car

procession - a chariot carrying a 6 feet tall

mother marys statute draped in a wonderful

and expensive silk saree. The chariot is

illuminated with lights and is decorated with

flowers. Each year the church builds a new

chariot for mother marys feast. After the car

procession, they will offer a thanksgiving

mass and the festival comes to an end with

the flag-lowering.
Nearly 5 lakh people visit the church during

the feast. This church is known for its power

of curing many diseases and ailments. Many

people come here and pray for their health

and healing.
The main differences between the celebration of Mother Mary's feast in
Kanyakumari, Velakanni and Bengaluru.
In Kanyakumari, Mother Mary's feast is celebrated in the month of December wherein in

Bengaluru and Velankanni it is celebrated in the month of September.

In Kanyakumari and Bengaluru the feast is celebrated for a span of nine days but in

Velankanni the feat is celebrated for a span of eleven days.

In Bengaluru and Velankanni a new flag is hoisted every day during the feast but in

Kanyakumari, only one flag is hoisted when the feast commences and the flag is lowered

only when the feast culminates.

In Velankanni people all over India come to attend the feast but in Kanyakumari and

Bengaluru people from neighbouring towns and villages and the ones who reside in that

place come to attend the feast.

In Kanyakumari, the chariot is made out of gold paper and that chariot is used during the

time of the feast every year. But in Bengaluru, a new chariot is made every year. In

Velankanni they make chariot mainly with flowers and the chariot is mainly carried by

women.

In Kanyakumari, devotees wear any coloured dress but in Velankanni and Bangalore

devotees wear Saffron coloured dress during the feast.

Thank You.