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Udupi : Food packets and alms were distributed to the destitute at the St Lawrence Basilica Shrine on Friday, 29^th January, 2017, after five days of the annual feast of the Saint of Miracles.

The annual feast began from Sunday to Thursday, five days which attracted more than expected 15 lakh devotees breaking the barriers of faith.

Since seventeen years the alms giving tradition has been going on at the shrine. Prior to this practice, the destitute and large beggars used to have a free run during the annual feast at Attur due to which most of the pilgrims had to face inconvenience and harassment from them for alms. Later in line with the government policy of discouraging begging in public places and to avoid inconvenience to the pilgrims, the Shrine Committee with the help of police decided to put an end to begging during the annual feast of Attur.

Instead the pilgrims were asked to deposit their alms meant for the destitute in separate boxes were distributed to the destitute after the end of the five days of annual feast along with packets of cooked food. The children were denied alms packets as a matter of policy in order to discourage begging among the young children.

The alms were distributed in the presence of Rev Fr. George D’Souza Rector of Basilica, Rev Fr. Vijay D’Souza Assistant Parish priest and John D’Silva elected Vice President of Basilica Parish pastoral council. The beggars were divided into three categories depending on their problems and state of their health. Around 2500 destitute were received alms totaling Rs. 10.32 lakh.

The five days annual feast ended with distribution of alms and packets to the destitute at the St. Lawrence Basilica, Attur Karkala.

According to the life history of St Lawrence, the emperor of Rome had demanded that St Lawrence turns over the riches of the Church. St Ambrose is the earliest source for the tale of St Lawrence which says that he had requested three days time to gather all the wealth. St Lawrence worked swiftly to distribute as much Church property to the poor as possible, so as to prevent it from being seized. On the third day as the head of a small delegation, he presented himself to the emperor and when the king ordered to give the treasure of the Church he presented to the poor, the crippled, the blind and the suffering and said these were the true treasures of the Church. The emperor was so angry that he announced the death sentence to St Lawrence. As a remembrance of this event every year, alms are being distributed to the beggars and the destitute at St Lawrence Shrine Attur.