All the 4,003 pilgrims, including 816 women and 229 children, returned home safely on Sunday evening after attending the annual St.Antony’s Church festival in Katchatheevu, the uninhibited islet in the Palk Bay.
On being handed over by the Sri Lankan Navy at the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), the pilgrims were escorted by the personnel attached to the Mandapam Station of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Coastal Security Group (CSG) to the fishing jetty here.
“All the pilgrims who had gone for the pilgrimage in 110 trawlers returned safely by Sunday evening,” Superintendent of Police N.M. Mylvahanan said. No untoward incident was reported, the SP added.
After the Feast Mass conducted by Fr. Gnanaprakasam, Vicar General of Jaffna Diocese, marking the culmination of the two-day celebrations, the pilgrims began to leave the islet in batches. The first batch of 30 pilgrims reached the fishing jetty here around 11 a.m. and the last batch around 4.30 p.m.
“The celebrations went off very well, thanks to the excellent coordination by the Jaffna Diocese, the Consulate General of India in Jaffna and various security agencies, especially Customs and Immigration,” Rev. L. Sagayaraj, chief coordinator of the pilgrimage, told The Hindu .
This year, the Jaffna Diocese, the host, made good arrangements for the pilgrims, erecting sheds, arranging meals and drinking water facilities, he said.
The festival began on Saturday evening with Way of the Cross procession, jointly taken out by Lankan and Tamil pilgrims, followed by Benediction and Eucharistic adoration conducted by Rev. Sagayaraj, who is also the Verkodu Parish Priest, and evening Mass by Fr. S. Michael Raj from Sivaganga Diocese.
On return, the pilgrims were allowed to leave the fishing jetty after clearances from the Customs, Immigration, Intelligence Bureau and Q Branch police, police sources said.
