Kerala churches get ready to celebrate beatification By Sanu George, Indo-Asian News Service
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 17 (IANS) Catholic churches in Kerala are getting ready to celebrate the beatification of Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II's 25th year in office by holding special masses and meetings on Sunday. The day is being observed in a special way by churches belonging to the three Catholic denominations in the state. Kerala Chief Minister A.K. Antony, who is leaving for Delhi Friday to sort out party problems, is expected to be back Sunday for the celebrations. He is scheduled to inaugurate a religious harmony meeting organised by the Thiruvananthapuram Diocese of the Latin Catholic Church. Besides, Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselious of the Malankara Catholic Church, who is also the chairman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, will lead a Holy Mass here. A public meeting in honour of the Pope will follow. The Syro Malabar Catholic Church is also going ahead with processions, special masses and meetings across the state on the day. While the churches plan their celebrations, a team of sculptors has been busy putting finishing touches to a five-foot-tall statue of Mother Teresa that is being airlifted to Kolkata Friday. The team, led by Vincent Kachapally, has been working on the 55 kg, plaster of Paris statue at the Bethlehem Art Studio near Kochi. "Two more similar statues will be erected in Bangalore and Madhya Pradesh. This is the first time that statues of this size of Mother Teresa are being made in the state," said Kachapally. The state boasts of three beatified saints - Fr. Kuriakose Ellias Chavara from Kudamallor and Sr. Alphonsamma from Bharanaganam, both in Kottayam district, and Sr. Mariam Theresa from Thrissur. While the Pope beatified Fr. Chavara and Sr. Alphonsamma during his visit to Kerala in 1986, Sr. Mariam Theresa was beatified in 2000 in Rome. --Indo-Asian News Service ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
