St Mary's Forane Church Karimannoor Blessing after major renovation

St Mary's Forane Church at Karimannoor near Thodupuzha is a century-old Syro Malabar Church in Kothamangalam Eparchy. It was formed in 1912 with around 50 families. Now it has a membership of over a thousand families.

The present Vicar of The Church is Rev Fr Stanley Pulprayil, a pious, compassionate, and calm but vibrant Priest. After taking over the administration of the Church, he has not only concentrated on the spiritual needs of the faithful entrusted to his care but also their physical and material needs. The numerous human welfare activities like providing homes for the homeless, extending medical assistance to the sick, supplying food kits to the needy, supporting the marriages of poor girls, etc. initiated and being continued by the Church committee under his guidance is an example of his concern for humanity.   

The grand old Church building that was constructed many decades ago needed urgent renovation. The Parish Priest and Church committee observed it and decided to make some minor repairs that were very vital taking into consideration the present pandemic times. But once the works began, the engineers and masons found that most of the parts of the buildings were too old to repair and were in a dilapidated condition. Hence all those concerned decided to renovate the whole Church building in a major manner... 

After just 100 days, the congregation that assembled for the Blessing of the Church by the Diocesan Bishop Mar George Madathikandathil on 12th December was wonderstruck to find a stunning new Church in the place of the old one. The workforce renovated the entire thing in a new style very smartly. And the total appearance of the interior and exterior parts were so magnificent.

Another thing worth mentioning is the funds raised to meet the expenses. Normally to meet the expenses for such construction or renovation, members will be asked to give compulsory donations. But in the case of Karimannoor Church, the parishioners who could afford volunteered to contribute liberally without troubling the ordinary people.

The Hon'ble Bishop, other Priests, and the people thanked profusely the Vicar and the assistant vicar Rev Fr Mathew Plathottam who extended even skilled works tirelessly, and all who were part of this project that was completed at a record speed!

May God Bless abundantly all those who are incidental to this project and donated liberally for the house of God.

Here I am uploading some of the photographs shared by Rev Fr Mathew, the Assistant Vicar of St Mary's Forane Church, Karimannoor.