Pilgrims threw rose petals and jasmine flowers, and jostled one other to view the statue of the blessed mother it bore and pray to her. They came from all over Tamil Nadu state and from Britain, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

"It is a grace to see this procession, which happens so rarely," Alwin Gomez, 45, told UCA News. He came from Chennai, the state capital, and had waited three hours at the vantage point he chose to see the statue. Some people waited from 4 a.m., he said.

One reason for the rarity of the procession is the expense involved, organizers say. This year, they spent 2 million rupees (about $50,000 USD) to prepare the vehicle. Another 20 million rupees was spent preparing the procession route, which involved removing and reinstalling power lines and resurfacing roads in collaboration with the government.

According to local tradition, the statue of Our Lady of Snows carried in the processions stood inside an Augustinian nuns' chapel in Manila centuries ago. The statue, which millions consider miraculous, arrived by ship in Tuticorin in 1555, belatedly upon the request of St. Francis.

The nuns first rejected the Jesuit missioner's request to send the statue to help strengthen the faith of a newly converted fishing community called Paravar in Tuticorin. They changed their minds after Francis Xavier's death in 1552. Since then, Our Lady of Snows has been called the "guardian of Paravar."

The origins of this Marian title is unclear. Some sources say it came about after the blessed mother apparently caused snow to appear during summertime in Rome during the fourth century as a supernatural sign.

Justin Motha, 75, who has witnessed the procession five times, said people celebrate the feast to express their faith, and "this spirit and faith will endure for generations to come."

Archbishop Peter Fernando of Madurai, former administrator of Tuticorin diocese, told UCA News that despite "huge crowds, there was no disturbance at all." In his view this "reveals the faith of the devotees."

The shrine itself attracts people of various religions. Rajni Murugan, a Hindu, said she and her family come "every year" and the blessed mother "hears our prayers." Sabitha Begum, a Muslim woman, said she also comes every year to pray to the blessed mother.

The congress, set for June 15-22, will coincide with the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City. Quebec is also Canada's oldest diocese, through which missionaries went on to evangelize the whole continent. Cardinal Ouellet said he hopes the congress will "give new life to the consciousness of the Christian roots of our country."

Cardinal Ouellet spoke as well of "great efforts" to involve youth, describing it a "big challenge, especially in Canada, for handing on the faith and also religious practices and devotions to the next generation." Three youth summits have been held since the spring of 2005, each one growing considerably in size. The first youth summit generated the idea of a symbolic object to travel around the country like the World Youth Day Cross. That suggested resulted in the beautifully crafted Ark of the New Covenant, which is traveling throughout Canada in advance of the congress.

Cardinal Ouellet hopes the congress will not only transform Canada, but also will have an impact on the whole world.

The time has come to overturn the dominance of what Pope John Paul II called the culture of death, he said. Instead of a globalization of alienation and injustice, he said he hopes to see the globalization of charity, solidarity and of the "unity of mankind in Jesus Christ."

Cardinal Ouellet referred to Pope Benedict XVI's March 2007 apostolic exhortation "Sacramentum Caritatis," which he said "bears the unifying mark of the holy father's vision" of the Eucharist as the "source and summit of the church's Life, a "mystery to be believed, a mystery to be celebrated, and a mystery to be lived." He pointed out the "affinity" the pope's document has with the theme of the congress: the gift of God for the life of the world.

Cardinal Ouellet said he has observed "signs from God" of indicating a time for eucharistic renewal. One of those signs came through a 9- year old boy named Jeremy Gabriel, who "spent half his life in hospital" got operations to correct the effects of Treacher Collins syndrome, a rare genetic disease. Though deaf, with the help of an implant, he can hear well enough to sing beautifully.

Cardinal Ouellet said Jeremy was chosen by God to affirm the sacredness of human life and "to be the prophet of the 2008 congress."

The congress will conclude with a universal call to holiness, with special focus on the calls to married life and to consecrated life, what Cardinal Ouellet described as "two key ways of building a civilization of love for the Eucharist."

"The city will be transformed," he said.

"We have a wonderful story of holiness to tell the whole world."