By Irudhaya Jothi

Bhalukpong, Sept 9, 2022: A village parish in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu has consecrated a 42 feet rare monolith rock pillar with 6-feet tall Marian statue atop.

Archbishop Francis Kalist of Pondicherry-Cuddalore blessed and consecrated the “Pillar of Faith” on September 8, the Mother Mary’s birthday, on his first visit to Nangathur, a tiny Dalit Catholic village in Villupuram district, some 165 km south of Chennai.

The parish has around 500 Catholic families and comes under Pondicherry- Cuddalore Archdiocese.

“This is the only monolith rock pillar dedicated to Our Lady in the whole of Asia,” said Capuchin Father Nithiya Sagayam, a former secretary of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) and Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI).

Father Sagayam, a native of the village, further said, that although there are many monolith pillars in the world, most of them are brought from other places and sculpted and erected but the “Pillar of Faith” is made of rock from the same village and sculptured by a native Hindu devotee.

Parish priest Father Sathish Kumar, who undertook this mission, said, “Looking at the mammoth rocks all around the village which are leased to private contractors for quarry works and reduced to rubbles I thought of making a pillar for Our Lady.”

Father Kumar appreciated the enthusiasm of the people in supporting the idea and helping to complete the project in just four months, a record.

The church is dedicated to Our Lady of Periya Nayagi (greatest heroine), Mother Mary with the Child Jesus wearing a saree like a Tamil woman, which was carved in wood by Veeramamuniver.

An Italian Jesuit Father Constantine Beschi, also known as Veeramamunivar, wrote one of the Tamil classic Thembavani (the unfading garland- an ornament of poems as sweet as honey), 3,615 stanza-long of Salvation history and life of Saint Joseph. In this Tamil Classic, he describes Our Lady as Periya Nayagi.

Veeramamunivar constructed a church for Our Lady of Periya Nayagi in the 17th century in a village called Konankuppam in the same diocese.

Although Catholics reached Nangathur village in the 16th century, diocesan records show the installation of Our Lady’s statue only in 1820 and the erection of the parish in 1866.

The Foreign Mission French priest, who replaced the Jesuits in 18th century, deepened the faith in Nangathur as per the archdiocesan data. The missionaries planned the village with straight roads and houses on both sides and on the west side of the village the parish church, presbytery, convent, school and cemetery all in one row.

“This Dalit Christian village is a classical example of education transforming the people within two or three generations,” said Jesuit advocate and Ambedkarite Dalit activist Father Yesu Marian. “It is a case study for those working on development sectors,” he told Matters India.

The parish has contributed to the Church people such as Cardinal Simon Lourdusamy and some 30 priests and around 50 nuns and brothers.

‘It is because of the deep faith of the people in the power of our lady of Periya Nayagi her children have grown to serve as priests and religions all over the world,” said Parisutha Marianathan, a native working as a railway employee at Valsad, Gujarat, western India.

Alphosa Mary, a staff nurse from the village, expressed happiness saying. “The rock pillar for Our Lady has put my village on the world map and even the rocky hills are blessed due to this Pillar of Faith.”

The village has also produced many army men who had fought in two World Wars and Bangladesh and Tiger Hills in the Himalayas. They were also part of the peacekeeping force of the Indian Army in many countries.

The devotion to Our Lady has resulted in many serving as Indian Administrative Service officer, engineers, doctors, teachers and bankers, said Indian Army Subedar Marison Pope, who is now posted on the Bangladesh border

The village WhatsApp group in 2019 took up the ‘green village’ initiative by planting saplings to implement “Laudato Si” (Praise Be to You), the second encyclical of Pope Francis that critiques consumerism and irresponsible development, laments environmental degradation and global warming, and calls all people of the world to take “swift and unified global action.”