| International News

About 1.5 million Catholics filled the narrow streets of Tuticorin on Aug. 5 for the feast of Our Lady of Snows. The port town sits on the southeastern coast of India, 2,700 kilometers (about 1,675 miles) south of New Delhi,

Under the sultry August sun, thousands of men pulled at the ropes attached to the 21.2-meter-tall conveyance decorated with semi-precious stones.

Pilgrims threw rose petals and jasmine flowers, and jostled one other to view the statue of the blessed mother it bore and pray to her. They came from all over Tamil Nadu state and from Britain, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

"It is a grace to see this procession, which happens so rarely," Alwin Gomez, 45, told UCA News. He came from Chennai, the state capital, and had waited three hours at the vantage point he chose to see the statue. Some people waited from 4 a.m., he said.

The Golden Car procession, which ended 10 days of festive celebrations, began at 8 a.m. and took five hours to cover its three-kilometer (two-mile) route and return to the basilica. The processional vehicle, however, is on public display until Aug. 15.

"I am so glad I am here. It was my dream to participate in the feast," said Martha Vilvarayar, one of about 200 Sri Lankan Catholics who came for the festival.

In this Catholic-dominated fishing town, Marian devotion is as old as local people's faith, which began five centuries ago when St. Francis Xavier preached here in 1542.

However, the Marian statue is taken out only to mark certain occasions. The first procession was in 1806, and this year's procession, which came after a gap of seven years, was only the 14th.

The recent celebration commemorated the 425th anniversary of the Church of Our Lady of Snows, which was built in 1582, and the silver jubilee of the church's being raised to basilica status in 1982. It also marked the 201st anniversary of the construction of the processional vehicle.

One reason for the rarity of the procession is the expense involved, organizers say. This year, they spent 2 million rupees (about $50,000 USD) to prepare the vehicle. Another 20 million rupees was spent preparing the procession route, which involved removing and reinstalling power lines and resurfacing roads in collaboration with the government.

According to local tradition, the statue of Our Lady of Snows carried in the processions stood inside an Augustinian nuns' chapel in Manila centuries ago. The statue, which millions consider miraculous, arrived by ship in Tuticorin in 1555, belatedly upon the request of St. Francis.

The nuns first rejected the Jesuit missioner's request to send the statue to help strengthen the faith of a newly converted fishing community called Paravar in Tuticorin. They changed their minds after Francis Xavier's death in 1552. Since then, Our Lady of Snows has been called the "guardian of Paravar."

The origins of this Marian title is unclear. Some sources say it came about after the blessed mother apparently caused snow to appear during summertime in Rome during the fourth century as a supernatural sign.

Justin Motha, 75, who has witnessed the procession five times, said people celebrate the feast to express their faith, and "this spirit and faith will endure for generations to come."

Archbishop Peter Fernando of Madurai, former administrator of Tuticorin diocese, told UCA News that despite "huge crowds, there was no disturbance at all." In his view this "reveals the faith of the devotees."

The shrine itself attracts people of various religions. Rajni Murugan, a Hindu, said she and her family come "every year" and the blessed mother "hears our prayers." Sabitha Begum, a Muslim woman, said she also comes every year to pray to the blessed mother.

The town took on a festive look. People had decorated and illuminated their homes and children set off firecrackers. Local Catholics hosted friends and relatives who came for the feast.

The Indian postal department also issued a special stamp to commemorate the event.