Gunadala Mary Matha Church, one of the most popular churches and pilgrimage site of Christians in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh will be developed on at par with the Velankanni Church of Tamil Nadu, reported The Hindu .
A team of priests under the aegis of Vijayawada Catholic Bishop Telagatoti Joseph Rajarao will be visiting the Velankanni Church, St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City, Our Lady of Fatima Church in Portugal, and Lourde Church in France, in order to develop the Gunadala Mary Matha Church which is situated in a hilly region of district Krishna.
The team will study various aspects of all the temples and then prepare a plan accordingly. The teams will most likely focus on aspects like the prayer house, pilgrim rush, special prayers offered, and facilities like accommodation, and transportation.
“After the visit to temples in different countries, the Monsignors, Rectors and priests will prepare a plan to develop the Gunadala Shrine on the lines of Velankanni Matha Church. A requisition along with the development plan of the shrine would be forwarded to the Vatican City for approval,” Gunadala Temple Rector Eleti William Jayaraju said.
A team from the Vatican city is also likely to visit the Gunadala shrine to observe the church’s history, the pilgrim rush, the running facility, scope of expansion and air connectivity among other aspects.
It is said that Mother Mary appeared on this hill on 11th February in 1858 and in 1925, the Rector of St Joseph’s Orphanage at Gunadala, installed a statue of Our Lady where a church was built and consecrated in 1972. Since then the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes became an annual event, attended by hundreds of people.
