Thousands of devotees participated in the annual festival of the St. Joseph's Parish Shrine, Pavaratty, near here, on Sunday. The festival, celebrated on the third Sunday after Easter, is one of the most important church festivals in the State. The feast of St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, is celebrated here.
The celebrations begin with hoisting of the flag with the holy picture of St. Joseph, nine days prior to the main festival. Special ceremonies will be held on all the nine days.
Bishop of Ramanathapuram Archdiocese Mar Paul Alappat led the Holy Mass on Saturday, the eve of the festival. ‘Kooduthurakkal' ceremony (presenting the holy statue of St. Joseph for public veneration) was one of the major rituals on Saturday. The holy feast that was attended by hundreds of people was another highlight of the celebrations.
The fireworks display at the Pavaratty Shrine on the eve of the festival is very famous. From puffs, fizzes and pops to dazzling flecks and multi-coloured light, the festival attracts huge crowds. Like in Thissur Pooram, a friendly competition between the north and south wings of the parish peps up the spirit of fireworks.
However, as rain interrupted the show on Saturday, display of fireworks of the south wing was postponed to Sunday night.
The holy ceremonies on Sunday started around 3 a.m. Fr. Davis Pulikkottil led the festival mass on Sunday. A procession, accompanied by band-music and colourful parasols, followed. Hundreds of devotees participated in the procession.
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