St. Joseph's Parish Shrine, Pavaratty is a Christian church located in

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Located in a small town named

Pavaratty Pavaratty is a census town in Thrissur district in the Indian state of Kerala. Pavaratty is situated in the coastal area of Chavakkad taluk in Thrissur District. The town is about 23 km north-west of Thrissur town and 5 km south of Gu ...

, the church is popularly known as Pavaratty Palli. It is a parish of Syro-malabar traditions under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Arch-diocese of Thrissur. The fireworks connected to the grand annual feast on the third Sunday after Easter is famous. The Indian Postal Department issues a special pictorial cancellation stamp to post offices connected to popular tourist destinations and pilgrimages in India. The postal department has provided pictorial cancellation at Pavaratty post office from 13 May 1996. Pavaratti Church is the third Christian church in Kerala to receive this honor ( Malayattoor Church and Bharananganam Church are the other two churches).

History

The Pavaratty area was once under the

Chittattukara Chittattukara is a census town and panchayat in Paravur Taluk of Ernakulam District, Kerala. Paravur town is situated close to this village, just 2 km. The most ancient and trade centre Pashnam is located at Pattanam, a small area in thi ...

Parish. Since the Chittattukara church is little far from Pavaratty, people of Pavaratty requested to extend the commencement of Tirukarma ceremonies a little. But the church officials ignored the requests, so the believers from Pavaratty decided to build a church of their own, which later became St. Joseph's Church. The simple church structure was blessed on 13 April 1876, on a

Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the ...

. After that, they set out to construct a permanent church building and it was completed in 1880. To accommodate more people in the church hall, in 1934, a spacious hall constructed facing the main altar from the southern side, and in 1961 another one was constructed to the Northern side. The church was renovated in 1975 and later in 2004. The altar of the church which was built in the Portuguese style of architecture, was kept unchanged during these renovations.

Geography

The church is located in

town in

Chavakkad Chavakkad, formerly Chowghat, is a municipality in Thrissur district of Kerala state in India. It is a suburban town of Thrissur city. Chavakkad is noted for its beach and fishing. It lies on National Highway 66 is located about north of the ...

taluk, Thrissur district, Kerala. The church is located 23 km northwest of Thrissur and 4 km south of

Guruvayur Guruvayur () is a municipal temple town in Thrissur District, of Kerala State in India. It is a suburban town of Thrissur city, located from Thrissur towards the north-west. It houses the Guruvayur Shri Krishna Temple. It is located at ...

. The nearest railway station is Guruvayur and the nearest airport is

Kochi International Airport Cochin International Airport is an International airport serving the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. Located at Nedumbassery, about northeast of the city centre, Cochin International Airport is first of its kind which is develo ...

(59 km).

Church feast

The annual grand feast of the shrine falls on the third Sunday after

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

. It is one of the most significant church festivals of Kerala. In 2019, it was the 143rd annual festival. In 2020, the festival was cancelled due to corona prevention protocols. The fireworks connected to the annual festival celebration is also famous.

Institutions under the church

Schools

* St. Lois LP School, Venmenad (Started in 1903) * St. Joseph's LP School, Pavaratty (started in 1908) * St. Antony's UP School, Poovathur (Started in 1925) * St. Mary's LP School, Puthumanassery (Started in 1925) * Sanjoe's School of Nursing, Pavaratty (Started in 1994)

Hospitals

* Sanjoe's Parish Hospital, Pavaratty (Started in 1949)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph's Parish Shrine, Pavaratty Churches in Thrissur district Syro-Malabar Catholic church buildings