Thousands attend festivities marking canonisation of St Devasahayam

Thiruvananthapuram: The Catholic Christian community in Thiruvananthapuram and Neyyattinkara archdioceses celebrated the canonisation of Blessed Martyr Devasahayam on Sunday. He was declared a saint by Pope Francis in the Vatican.
A special holy mass, in which the archbishop of the Latin archdiocese of Trivandrum Rev Fr Thomas J Netto was the main celebrant, was held at St Joseph’s Latin Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral in Palayam in the evening and it was followed by the unveiling of the holy sculpture of St Devasahayam.
Thousands, including all the priests of Thiruvananthapuram archdiocese, followers, representatives and devotees, flocked to the cathedral to attend the holy mass and other functions. Thousands of people participated in the vehicle rally organized by the Neyyattinkara archdiocese on Sunday morning. Carrying the relic and idol of St Devasahayam, the rally was held from the St Joseph’s Cathedral in Palayam to the St Antony’s Cathedral in Kamukinkode near Balaramapuram. Monsignor T Nicholas blessed the rally after flagging it off.
Kamukinkode is known to be a place where Christians took refuge to escape from the attack of the then Travancore king in the 18th century and they were visited by St Devasahayam. This sacred place has become a pilgrim centre for Catholic Christian community. Huge crowds were seen at Kamukinkode pilgrim centre on Sunday when St Devasahayam was declared a saint.
Four-day festivities, which started on Saturday, were also organized here as part of the canonisation of St Devasahayam. Special prayers and holy mass were held on Sunday morning at Kamukinkode, in which Stanely Roman was the main celebrant. Monsignor Roophus Pious Leen was the main celebrant of the holy mass held in the evening. Homily was done by Fr Johny Muttathinnada.
The event declaring Devasahayam as a saint by Pope Francis was live telecast on big screens at Kamukinkode. Special prayers and holy mass will be held on Monday and Tuesday as well. A rally of devotees carrying the idol of St Devasahayam and a special feast will also be held on Tuesday.
On Monday, a documentary on the life of St Devasahayam will be screened at 7.30pm. The festivities will end with a public conference on Tuesday evening in the presence of speaker MB Rajesh, MLAs, MPs and other prominent personalities.
The archdiocese has also decided to conduct a blood donation drive as part of the festival.
Devotees can fill consent letters and put it in the box arranged in front of the cathedral.