Blessing of the Renewed Stations of the Cross at Ranni-Perunadu Pilgrim Church

Ranni-Perunadu – 29 March 2025

It is often in retracing the sorrowful steps of Christ that the soul finds its own path made clear. At the revered pilgrimage shrine of Ranni-Perunadu Kurishumala, this sacred journey was renewed once more, as the blessing of the newly restored Way of the Cross was solemnly celebrated under the leadership of His Eminent Beatitude Cardinal Moran Mor Baselios Cleemis Catholicos, Major Archbishop-Catholicos of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.

Amidst the mist-kissed hills and the quiet hush of prayer, the faithful gathered at this hallowed site, where generations have climbed in devotion and descended in grace. The Kurishumala pilgrimage path, long cherished as a beacon of spiritual renewal for the Malankara faithful, has now been given fresh life through the reverent restoration of its fourteen stations.

With prayerful solemnity and the cadence of Syriac chant rising through the air, His Eminent Beatitude led the rite of blessing, recalling the inexhaustible love of the Saviour who bore the Cross not upon gilded altars, but through dust, blood, and silence.

This act of rededication was not merely architectural but spiritual—a renewal of our own readiness to walk the Way of the Cross in daily life. It is a path of surrender and strength, where the weight of suffering is borne not alone, but with Christ who goes ahead of us.

In the words spoken at the foot of the hill:

“Every step of the Cross carries the echo of our prayers. May all who walk this path find strength in weakness, light in sorrow, and resurrection beyond every Golgotha.”

Faithful from various Ecclesiastical Districts and parishes made their ascent alongside clergy, religious, and laity, their presence bearing witness to the unity of our Church—drawn together under the Cross, the eternal sign of our salvation.