KOCHI: Around 14,000 people, including children, teachers and parents, came together to handwrite the Gospel of St Mark and present it in bound book form on Sunday.
The event, held under the leadership of the Faith Formation Commission and the Basic Christian Community directorate, helped the Archdiocese of Verapoly secure a place in the Book of India Records.
The historic gathering took place in the courtyard of the Vallarpadam Basilica and was inaugurated by Archbishop Dr Joseph Kalathiparambil of Verapoly Archdiocese. The award was formally presented by Book of India representative Tony Chittattukulathil and received on behalf of the archdiocese by Archbishop Kalathiparambil.
The handwritten Gospel, consisting of 16 chapters, was carefully compiled, bound, and presented at the event.
Participants ranged from kindergarten children to elderly members of the community. Priests, children, parents and teachers, among others, took part in the record-making initiative.
While most contributions were in Malayalam, the Gospel was also copied in several other languages including Tamil, English, Kannada, Odia, Latin, Hindi, German, and Hebrew, making the event an exceptional milestone in the history of the Catholic Church in Kerala.
The archdiocese had previously conducted a similar event last year when more than 4,000 participants came together to handwrite the Gospel of St Luke.
