Parishioners under the Thamarassery and Calicut Dioceses observed Maundy Thursday, commemorating Jesus Christ’s Last Supper, with special religious ceremonies.
Thamarassery Bishop Remigiose Inchananiyil and Kozhikode Bishop Varghese Chakkalakkal were the main celebrants at the special mass and other ceremonies, including the ritualistic Washing of the Feet held at the Mary Matha Cathedral Church, Thamarassery, and Mother of God Cathedral, Kozhikode, respectively.
The rituals also marked the beginning of Paschal Triduum, the three-day period during which the faithful recall the Passion and Resurrection of Christ as part of the Passion Week observance. Commemorating the Last Supper, the unleavened Passover Breads were cut at Christian homes.
The Way of the Cross, the re-enacting of the 14 stations of Christ’s last journey carrying a heavy wooden cross and a crown of thorns to his Crucifixion on Mount Calvary, would mark the Good Friday observances on the second day of Triduum. Way of the Cross ceremonies will be held in all parishes. The largest of these will take place on the Thamarassery Ghat Road with thousands of faithful from different parts of northern Kerala attending.
“We expect a turnout of over one lakh people for the Way of the Cross ceremony on the Thamarassery pass, which will begin from Adivaram at 9.30 a.m and culminate at Lakkidi by 1.30 p.m. This is the 28th time we are organising it for the faithful covering a distance of about 16 km,” said Fr. Thomas Thundathil, one of the six priests entrusted with the coordination of the ceremony. He said it would be one of the biggest such prayer gatherings in the State on Good Friday.
