St. Mary

Feast day: 15th August

Patronage: Navigators, Potters, Sailors, Nuns

As the mother of Jesus, Mary has a central role in the Roman Catholic Church. The church's veneration of her as the Blessed Virgin Mary has grown over time both in importance and manifestation, not only in prayer but in art, poetry and music.Popes have encouraged this veneration but from time to time have also taken steps to reform it. Overall, there are significantly more titles, feasts and venerative Marian practices among Roman Catholics than any other Christian traditions. Pope Benedict XVI maintains that the Virgin Mary possesses divine motherhood which she continues to bestow as intercessory "graces associated with God's blessing.

The key role of the Virgin Mary in Roman Catholic beliefs, her veneration, and the growth of Roman Catholic Mariology have not only come about by official statements made in Rome but have often been driven from the ground up, by the Marian writings of the saints and from the masses of believers, and at times via reported Marian apparitions to young and simple children on remote hilltops. The Holy See continues to approve of Marian apparitions on remote mountains, the latest approval being as recent as May 2008.Some apparitions, such as Fatima, have given rise to Marian Movements and Societies with millions of members, and many other Marian societies exist around the world.

Area: Gandhipuram

Kudumbasamelanam: 3rd Sunday

Number of Family: 26

Animators

Sr. Rita

Sr. Elizabeth

Executive Members

Mr. P C James

Convenor

Mrs. Rani Prakash

Joint Convenor

Mr. Joy Antony

Secretary

Mrs. Shini Fredrick

Joint Secretary

Mr. Antony N Joseph

Treasurer

Mr. Antony N Joseph

Treasurer

Mr. Antony N Joseph

Treasurer

Unit Prathinithikal

Mr. Joseph Federick

Mr. Roy Joseph

Mrs. Sophy Leslie