Monday, April 19, 2010

#203 India...Thanks Kevin!


The stamp on the left was issued in 2007 showing Snows Basilica which is located at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the Catholic pilgrimage centres in India dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

The church was built during 16th century, and dedicated to St. Peter. Later Jesuits consecrated it to Our Lady of Snows. In 1542 St. Francis Xavier visited the shrine to catechize the paravars, the indigenous people of the Pearl Fishery Coast, and to strengthen them in Christian faith. The history of the shrine is closely connected with the mass conversion of the paravar community, numbering about 30,000.

In 1982, when the Church of Our Lady of Snows celebrated its 400th anniversary, Pope John Paul II raised it to the status of Basilica through his apostolic letter Pervenute illa Dei Beatissimae Genitricis Effigies.

The two butterflies stamps on the right were issued in 2008 depicting The Andaman Clubtail (Pachliopia rhodifer),which is a rare and beautiful member of the Swallowtail (Papilionidae) family,endemic and restricted to the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal.

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