Panimaya Matha Church, also known as Our Lady of Snows Shrine Basilica, in Thoothukudi district (Tamil Nadu) is world famous. The church was built by the Portuguese in 1711, and dedicated to Our Lady of Snows, a title given to St Mary. The Panimaya Matha Church is one of the Catholic pilgrimage centres in the country. A 10-day festival is held here every year with much fanfare. This year, the festival started with flag hoisting on July 26. The 10-day festival came to an end on August 5. This year, it was reportedly the 442nd annual festival at the church. The festival witnessed the participation of lakhs of people. The main program of the festival was organised on August 5. The summit program, held under the leadership of District Bishop Stephen Anthony, started at 7:30 in the morning. After this, the festival takes place in the region until the night of the same day. Lakhs of devotees participated in this festival.
Apart from the locals and regional people, the festival annually saw lakhs of devotees from different parts of the country and abroad like Sri Lanka and Malaysia; the festival embraced everyone without discrimination against caste, religion, or race.
Thousands of policemen were engaged in security work under the leadership of Thoothukudi District Superintendent of Police Balaji Saravanan. It is noteworthy that a local holiday was also given across the Thoothukudi district in view of this festival.
Several exhibitions are also held on the occasion of the Panimaya Matha Church festival. Many types of giant Ferris wheels are also featured in this festival to attract people. Interesting features like Snow World and Horror House are there to entertain children. Many types of food stalls are also set up to please foodies.
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