Journal 9-13-2010

Journal 9-13-2010

This morning we got up, went to breakfast, prayer, then jumped in the car and went to go see everything in Chennai that is related to St. Thomas. Our first stop was this place, I never caught the name of it but in this compound is the cave where St. Thomas is said to have been kept prisoner. There are also two crosses carved into the cave wall by st. thomas that are believed to bleed.

There were a ton of really corny, larger than life, bible figures at different numbered stations behind the cave building. After this, we left and went to see ICSA’s medication factory.

We put on hairnets, shoe covers and masks, then were given a tour or the facility. They had a lot of old lab equipment but everything seemed to work well.

Then we planted some things in the garden. Which apparently is a tradition for visiting St. Olaf students.

After this we went up to have lunch at the Mount where St. Thomas was martyred.

From the Mount, you could see all of Chennai, which spread out as far as we could see in all directions. I didn’t realize how HUGE this city is. The view was smoggy in the distance and most of the buildings are low to the ground but there do seem to be several clusters of tall buildings, different downtown districts of the city.

We left the Mount and went to visit the National Shrine of St. Thomas Basilica.

We were able to see the original grave of St. Thomas, which now only contains the spearhead that killed him and one of his bones. The majority of his body has been moved to Italy.

Here is a goofy picture of Matt. He just started doing this during our tour, while our guide was explaining something. He claims he was trying to stretch his back.