Mar Sleeva Syro-Malabar Church, Mapranam ( ml, മാപ്രാണം മാർ ശ്ലീവ പള്ളി),

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

is one of the few churches in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

which has received the relic of the Holy Cross, part of the Holy blood of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

and a piece of the towel used by Veronica to wipe the face of Jesus Christ, during the journey of the Passion, all donated from Vatican by the order of the

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

. Believed to have been constructed in AD 928, it is one of the oldest churches not only in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

state,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, but also in India. North of it lies Karuvannur River, the Arattupuzha Temple and the churches of Pallissery and Panamkulam. The Church is a part of

Irinjalakuda Irinjalakuda is a municipal town in Thrissur district, Kerala, India. It is the headquarters of Irinjalakuda Revenue Division and Mukundapuram (tehsil), Mukundapuram Taluk. After Thrissur, this town has most number of administrative, law-enfor ...

diocese and is a historically and archeologically renowned pilgrim centre. It was recently renovated and attracts worshippers beyond religious barriers. The offering of candles is the main ritual here and the annual ceremony is called Thirithelikkal (Candle Lighting). A candle made at this Church has been included in the

Limca Book of Records The ''Limca Book of Records'' is an annual reference book published in India documenting world records held by Indians. The records are further categorized into education, literature, agriculture, medical science, business, sports, nature, advent ...

as the largest candle in India. According to the book the candle has a weight of 1,079 kg and a height of 22 ft. On 14 September every year Christians all over the world celebrate the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and this same day Mapranam Church celebrates the main feast in the name of the Holy Cross.

References

External links

Official SiteSMCIM Site
Archdiocese of Thrissur Syro-Malabar Catholic church buildings Eastern Catholic cathedrals in Kerala Churches in Thrissur district Tourist attractions in Thrissur district Irinjalakuda {{India-EC-church-stub