THOOTHUKUDI
In view of taking out golden car procession planned next year, preparations have started to get ready the car for the grant event of Our Lady of Snows Basilica in Thoothukudi on Sunday.
The car procession is the highlight of the annual 11-day church festival, which is held from July 26 to August 5. On the last day, the car is taken out on the streets of the town with the participation of lakhs of devotees. Only to mark important occasions, the golden car procession is taken out. It has happened 15 times in the church history. The first procession was taken out on 2 February 1806 to mark the 250th year of the statue of Our Lady of Snows arriving on the shores of Thoothukudi.
The last procession happened in 2013 to mark the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the construction of the new church. Now, to commemorate the 300th year, the golden car procession will be taken out next year, announced Thoothukudi Catholic Diocese Bishop Stephen Antony during this year’s festival.
So preparations are under way to keep the car ready, for which a giant shed has been erected on the church premises. Six tall palmyra tree trunks have been brought and fixed on the ground using cranes for the purpose.
After the Sunday mass, by 11 a.m., the car was brought out of the shed, drawn by the congregation. After prayers, the work started. It will be 53 feet high, to mark symbolically the 53 beads in the Rosary, said Parish Priest Kumar of Our Lady of Snows Basilica . Experts will design the car incorporating figurines of Mary, Jesus, the angels and others in an aesthetic manner. The work will go on for the next 10 months. A countdown digital clock has been installed to show the days, hours, minutes and seconds left for the grand event on August 5 next year.
