Kochi, Nov 13, 2019: The Catholic Church will on November 16 organize a national thanksgiving celebration in connection with the canonization of Mother Mariam Thresia at her home village of Kuzhikkattussery in Kerala’s Thrissur district.

Around 30,000 people are scheduled to attend the celebration to be held on the premises of the Mariam Thresia Shrine at Kuzhikkattussery, it was announced at a press conference held at the Ernakulam Pastoral Orientation Centre.

Bishop Pauly Kannookadan of Irinjalakuda, Sister Udaya, superior general of the Congregation of Holy Family, and Syro-Malabar Curia Bishop Sebastian Vaniyapurackal addressed the press on November 13.

Cardinal George Alencherry, head of the Syro-Malabar Church, will lead the thanksgiving Mass will be celebrated at 2 pm. A public meeting will follow the Mass after three hours.

More than 100 bishops and several priests will concelebrate. Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, head of the Syro-Malankara Church, will deliver the homily.

Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India and the archbishop of Mumbai, will preside over the public meeting where Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Giambattista Diquattro will deliver a message.

At the meeting, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would launch a 50-million-rupee charity project by the Congregation of the Holy Family, founded by Saint Mariam Thresia.

The diocese of Irinjalakuda will launch a 20-million-rupee charity project as part of the event and the saint’s Mankidiyan family will start another 1.5 million project.

Federal Minister V Muraleedharan, Kerala opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, ministers C Raveendranath, V S Sunilkumar and A C Moideen, former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Members Parliament Benny Behanan, Hibi Eden and T N Prathapan, several legislators and other political leaders and senior bureaucrats are scheduled to attend the event.

Mother Mariam Thresia was canonized by Pope Francis at the Vatican on October 13.

The fourth saint from the Syro-Malabar Church was known as a mystic, stigmatist and a social reformer.

Source: The Times of India