Nothing original at Koonammavu church

Yesterday I visited the shrine of Saint Chavara Kuriakose Elias at Koonammavu. Somebody without any sense of art and preservation have spoiled the whole place. In a place which is divine by the very fact that the Saint lived his last few years here and died here is converted into a place of tourism with a commercial angle to it. The museum contains only some paintings which are below any artistic standards. The room in which the Saint breathed his last lost its divinity by someone who tried to reconstruct the death scene with statues of the dead body and two priests standing on both sides. An empty room which is well preserved would have had better impact on the visitor. Still the fact that I could visit that room brings in some solace. No body knows where the saints body is finally buried. Vested interests are creating multiple versions of it to misguide the believer to derive financial gains in the longer run. There is a tomb in koonammavu which says the Saint is buried here. There is another one at Mannanam. Which one is correct?. The believers have the right to know. I walked out with a heavy heart by seeing all unholy stuff about a person who lived a holy life in the service of humanity. Dear Saint please forgive all those who use your name for vested interests.

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