AP: Thousands throng Ross Hill Church for annual Mary Matha feast
8 Dec 2024 9:51 PM IST
Thousands of people from various communities and religious faiths participated in the festival of Immaculate Conception of Mother Mary, popular as the Visakhapuri Mary Matha Feast,
Thousands of people from various communities and religious faiths participated in the festival of Immaculate Conception of Mother Mary, popular as the Visakhapuri Mary Matha Feast, at the 156-year-old Ross Hill Chapel located in Old Town close to the Visakhapatnam Port on Sunday.
Devotees from not only the city and neighbouring districts but also Odisha and Chhattisgarh made a beeline for the shrine from 2 p.m. onwards.
Authorities made elaborate arrangements as pilgrims trekked over the hillock to have a glimpse of Mother Mary.
After the holy mass in the morning, the idol of Mother Mary holding Infant Jesus proceeded in a grand procession from St. Aloysius High School near the Old Post Office to the Ross Hill Chapel atop the hill.
“The festival has no religious boundaries. People from all religious faiths visit the chapel on this day every year to offer prayers. A unique part of the festival is that volunteers from different communities come together to serve visitors and devotees,” said a local priest.
Apart from being a tourist spot of Visakhapatnam, Ross Hill Chapel is known for its history and scenic setting. The chapel on the Ross Hill, along with nearby Venkateswara Temple on Sringamani Hillock and Baba Ishq Madina Dargah on Dargah Konda, are a symbol of religious harmony in Visakhapatnam.
As per the history in the Gazetteer, Monsieur Ross, a judge, built a house on the farthest point of the hill range in 1864. Two years later, the then Bishop J.M. Tissot acquired the bungalow. The Bishop erected an altar. The place got consecrated as a chapel by then Vicar General Fr. Richard on August 15, 1867.
Two major cyclones in 1870 and 1876 did considerable damage to the chapel. A new statue of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart got erected on the altar on May 1, 1877.
After the holy mass in the morning, the idol of Mother Mary holding Infant Jesus proceeded in a grand procession from St. Aloysius High School near the Old Post Office to the Ross Hill Chapel atop the hill.
“The festival has no religious boundaries. People from all religious faiths visit the chapel on this day every year to offer prayers. A unique part of the festival is that volunteers from different communities come together to serve visitors and devotees,” said a local priest.
Apart from being a tourist spot of Visakhapatnam, Ross Hill Chapel is known for its history and scenic setting. The chapel on the Ross Hill, along with nearby Venkateswara Temple on Sringamani Hillock and Baba Ishq Madina Dargah on Dargah Konda, are a symbol of religious harmony in Visakhapatnam.
As per the history in the Gazetteer, Monsieur Ross, a judge, built a house on the farthest point of the hill range in 1864. Two years later, the then Bishop J.M. Tissot acquired the bungalow. The Bishop erected an altar. The place got consecrated as a chapel by then Vicar General Fr. Richard on August 15, 1867.
Two major cyclones in 1870 and 1876 did considerable damage to the chapel. A new statue of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart got erected on the altar on May 1, 1877.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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