KOCHI: St Kuriakose Elias Chavara was a great visionary who made immense contributions the community and society, said Chief Minster Oommen Chandy on Saturday. He was speaking after offering flowers at the Saint’s resting place at St Philomena’s Church, Koonammavu, here on the occasion of his birth day.
“The spiritual life of the Saint was extraordinary. His contributions towards education came at the right time, and his contributions as a social reformer were unmatched. I am extremely happy to visit Koonammavu. My first visit to the place was to attend the funeral of former Finance Minister K T George. The government will take necessary steps to upgrade facilities for the pilgrims visiting Koonammavu as it has been getting worldwide attention since the canonisation of the Saint,” the Chief Minister said, adding that the government was planning to spruce up all the pilgrim centres in the State, including Sabarimala, to global standards. Later, master-plan for the Koonammavu Pilgrim Centre was handed over to the Chief Minister by Pilgrim Centre director Fr Antony Cheriyakadavu. The CM visited the room where the saint spent his last days. K V Thomas MP, V D Satheeshan MLA, former MP K P Dhanapalan and others attended the function.