Mother Mary’s relic on display

On the occasion of St Mary's feast, worshippers will be treated to a rare display of a holy relic of Mother Mary. Starting today, the relic will be on display at the St Peter's Church, Malad, till September 8. The church claims to be the only one in the city that has Mother Mary’s relic.

It is believed that the Apostles came to know of Mother Mary's demise through the Holy Spirit. They were then lifted onto the clouds to the site where her body had been laid.
St Thomas, the Apostle from India, asked the Holy Mother to give him something to prove that he had witnessed the event. The chariot paused and the waistband (girdle) and veil (mukasheela) fell into St Thomas' hands.

"He carried these sacred objects to India. After he died, these gifts were placed in his grave with him. “In AD394, his coffin and the girdle were moved from India to Uraha (also known as Edessa in Turkey) and then to Homs in Syria. It was then kept in a church that came to be known as the Soonoro Church," said Aleyas Mathai, trustee of St Peter's Church.

"The relics were traced in April 1953 and brought back here," Mathai added.