ST. TERESA’S SHRINE, MAHE

Church Festival with Holy processions, special prayers etc. Festival at St.Theresa’s church, Mahe, located on the main road connecting Kozhikode and Kannur. Mahe was a French colony and now a part of Pondichery State. Kodiyettam on the first day and main feast is on 15th October

According to a record which was discovered in the Carmelite Archives at Rome titled “De Missione Mahinensi in Malabaribus Commentarius” by Reverend Father Ignatius A.S Hippolytes O.C.D (dated 2 July 1757) the Shrine at Mahe was erected in 1736. According to the same document an Italian Reverend Father Dominic of St. John of the Cross came to Mahe and established the Mahe Mission in 1723 during the reign of King Bayanor, the Raja of Kadathanad near Vatakara. A small community of Christians gradually grew up at this place and in December 1736 the shrine was dedicated to this reformer Reverend Father Dominic of St. John of the Cross according to the solemn ritual of the Roman Catholic Church. Before becoming an established place of worship in 1736 the Shrine was constructed with thatches which were later modified several times.