Brisbane: The feast of the patron saint was celebrated with traditional flavour and fervour at St. Thomas the Apostle Syro Malabar Parish, Brisbane South on 8th and 9th of July, 2023.

On Saturday, the most solemn form of the Syro Malabar liturgy, The Raza, was co-celebrated by five priests and attended by around 700 parishioners.

The grand celebration of the feast took place on Sunday with more than 1100 people attending the Holy Qurbana and enjoying the community lunch. Rev. Fr. Tijo Puthenparambil led the Holy Qurbana co-celebrated by the parish vicar, Rev. Fr. Abraham Nadukunnel.

The Holy Qurbana was followed by a pious procession carrying the statues of saints. The multiple tableaus presented by the parish youth along the procession path displayed images of saints from India and events from the Bible.

The Sunday celebrations were concluded with an agape meal shared by all the parishioners and guests. The ten days long celebrations came to an end on Monday, 10th of July with the Holy Qurbana offered in memory of the departed souls of the families of the parishioners.

At the end of the celebrations on Sunday, Mr. Shibu Mathew, the general convenor of the Feast Committee, thanked everyone for their voluntary contributions and assistance in making this year’s feast celebrations a grand success and a source of grace.

The feast was an opportunity to build community spirit and brotherhood among the parishioners and get the best out of an army of over 100 volunteers who worked tirelessly for days and weeks in preparation for this feast.