Sea of humanity at St Mary’s Basilica
Vehicular movement was completely thrown out of gear for several hours in and around Shivajinagar, as a sea of humanity converged at St Mary’s Basilica for the annual feast on Wednesday.
Traffic jams were witnessed on Cubbon Road, Queen’s Road, St Marks Road and Infantry Road from afternoon till late evening. Traffic police had to divert vehicles on all roads approaching Shivajinagar. Buses were also not allowed to enter the Shivajinagar bus stop.
On Cubbon Road, people were at the receiving end as they were caught in a bumper-to-bumper traffic for several hours. “I have only managed to pass one signal during the last 45 minutes,” said Ankit Garg, who was on his way to Old Madras Road.
Not just road-users, even traffic police also had to face the heat. “Looking at the huge gathering, we had to extend the timings of traffic diversion till 10 pm,” said B A Muthanna, DCP (Traffic East).
St Mary’s feast
The day on which the Roman Catholic Church worldwide annually rejoices the birth of Mother Mary, is observed as St Mary’s feast.
The day of the feast, that is the tenth day of the festival, begins with a holy mass at 4 am, followed by masses for every half an hour. After the traditional flag hoisting ceremony, which marks the commencement of chariot procession, the Arch Bishop of Bangalore, Rev Bernard Moras called upon the devotees to thank God and observe peace and compassion.
Devotees in saffron, which stands for purity according to the Greek tradition, waited anxiously to get a glimpse of the Mother. Prior to this, the nine days of spiritual preparation is called Noveena. Several masses are held in the Basilica for all the nine days and mass marriages are held. This year, 47 couples tied the knot and thanksgiving mass is organised for elderly couples who have completed 50 years of togetherness.
St Mary’s Basilica is the only church in the City to get the status of a Basilica in 1973, making it the sixth in India. It was built was in 1811 by French missionary Abbe Dubios.
