John took Mom, Dad, Kathy and Aly to visit St. Thomas Mount (and here) on Sunday afternoon. St. Thomas Mount is recognized by the Catholic Church as the spot where Thomas the Apostle was killed.
The church at the top of the hill is designated as a national shrine, and many local Catholics worhip here. Others come for the views.
If cuddling is on your agenda, though, you'd better find another spot. No merriment allowed here.
There's a little cemetery on the mount, as well.
The sun was setting as John took these pictures of a congregation preparing for a worship service.
As has happened everywhere else in the world, Indian Catholicism has taken on a local flavor. The Catholic weddings we've attended here have more in common with Hindu weddings than they do with Catholic weddings I've attended in the United States. Statues of Mary, too, are often dressed and garlanded like idols in the Hindu temples.
Christianity has an ancient tradition in India, though there are several theories as to why it's been around so long. It's another face of India, one that I had no idea existed before I lived here.
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