Chief Minister Oommen Chandy laid the foundation for a new cupola at the coastal village of Kannamaly near here on Sunday, the eve of the feast of St. Joseph, a votive feast in whose name will see about a lakh people participating on Monday.
The foundation stone was blessed by the Bishop of the Diocese of Kochi Joseph Kariyil. Union Minister of State for food and consumer affairs K.V. Thomas; Minister for Ports and Excise K. Babu, Hibi Eden, and Dominic Presentation, MLAs, were among those present at the occasion.
The Kannamaly church, dedicated to St. Joseph, is a parish under the diocese of Kochi with a little less than 2,000 Catholic families under it.
The parish has found a place in the popular lore because of the annual feast of St. Joseph, a tradition that is more than a century old. Around a lakh people will participate in the votive feast on Monday, the 107th year of the practice.
The parish authorities said that the annual feast has been growing in stature every year because of the participation of people. The votive lunch is offered free to the faithful who participate in it because of the good will of a large number of people who make their contributions.
Preparations for the feast began four days ago with the preparation of the traditional onion curry.
The festival Mass is scheduled for 7 a.m. to be concelebrated by Bishop Kariyil. The feast will be served from 7 a.m. and is expected to last till about 12 midnight on Sunday.
The festival is the grateful recollection of a people, who believe that the intercession of St. Joseph saved their forefathers from death after an outbreak of cholera in 1904.
