This is perhaps the only unique Christian religious celebration of its kind in this part of the city.
A celebration that goes back to a few generations and one which has its own heritage, local and Catholic.
The feast to celebrate saint Lazarus, said to be the patron of lepers is on now at the Our Lady of Guidance Church in R. A. Puram.
The ten-day novena began on Thursday evening with the priest hoisting
the flag of the saint and celebrating Mass.
A short procession in which three cars with images of three saints was
taken out later.
The colorful and grand car procession will take place on January 26
evening after 8 p.m. when 9 cars will be taken out in procession
through the streets around this famous church and will end only close
to midnight.
This feast is a creation of a community which came to reside in this
once desolate part of San Thome, a time when only sand and scrubs made
this landscape off San Thome High Road and Foreshore Estate.
It was a time when the Portuguese influence and the Jesuit presence
was prevalent.
The community planned and held this feast on its own but it ran into
controversies with the Church, encountered highs and lows and is now a
grand feast celebrated by the church and the community here.
A Trust manages and runs this feast which draws people from across the city.
<< If you wish to share your memories of the feast in the 50s and 60s
please email a note to – mytimesedit@gmail.com >>
