BUKIT MERTAJAM, July 26 — The Minor Basilica of St Anne here is expected to receive over 100,000 pilgrims, including foreign tourists, for the annual 10-day St Anne’s Feast, one of the country’s largest religious celebrations.

Church Deacon Reverend Lazarus Anthony said the festival, which includes the nine-day novena (devotional praying in Christianity), starts on July 19, and major crowds are expected from today until Sunday.

"This year, the theme is "Enlarge the Space of Your Tent” inspired by scriptures from the Bible (Isaiah 54:2).

"During the 10-day St Anne’s feast celebrations, we are all called to make ready for God’s blessing for all those who are pining or yearning for greater or joyous things to happen to those coming for the celebration. God is about to bless everyone, irrespective of race, religion or status in life,” he told Bernama.

He noted that the highlight of this year’s celebration will be on Saturday, when there will be a multilingual open-air mass at 7pm in English, Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, and Tamil, followed by an annual procession at the end of the mass.

Seberang Perai Tengah police chief ACP Helmi Aris said several main roads around Bukit Mertajam would be closed for two days from 9am on Saturday to 3pm on Sunday for traffic order in conjunction with the St Anne Feast celebration.

The 1.6-kilometre (km) long candlelight procession will be held from 7pm on Saturday, starting from gate 3 of St Anne’s church through Jalan Kulim, Jalan Kampung Baru and Jalan Berjaya before returning to gate 1 of the church at about 11pm.

The Feast of St Anne at Bukit Mertajam, which takes place at the end of July every year, attracts thousands of pilgrims from all over the world to Penang. Catholics celebrate the feast day on July 26.

The celebration of St Anne in Penang is akin to the size and liveliness of Christmas within Christian celebrations in this country.

St Anne, the Influential grandmother of Jesus Christ and known as the patron saint of a wide array of devotees, including unmarried women and those seeking to conceive, represents hope for various aspects of life, including marriage, fertility and family.

Since September 2019, the Church of St Anne has been elevated to the Minor Basilica of St Anne, intensifying its bond with the Church of Rome and with the Pope, who is known to the Catholic Church endearingly as the Holy Father.

Built in the mid-1800s, it is the first of its kind in South-east Asia and draws pilgrims and devotees of various nationalities. — Bernama