present day

Little Rome today

Vadakkankulam today is an overwhelmingly Catholic town, and a remarkably literate one: the 2011 census puts the whole town at 9,220 people, 94 per cent of them able to read. The parish counts some 10,500 Catholics in around 4,000 families, organised through Basic Christian Communities; the diocese's own roll gives about 7,350 in some 1,600. The great August Perunkoor feast still draws close to a lakh of pilgrims for the chariot procession in the small hours of 15 August — the Tamil daily Maalaimalar reported as much in 2022, many of them crossing over from Kerala — and the parish keeps its faithful close through the monthly magazine Vadavai Matha Malar and its own live broadcasts.

Parish traditionThis moment rests on 4 sources.

Parish history 2026p. 11

Sub-Stations The following mission stations function under the parish: 1. St. George Church – Puthiamputhur 2. St. Francis Xavier Church – Avaraikulam Parish Statistics • Catholic Population: Approximately 10,500+ • Catholic Families: Approximately 4,000 + • Sunday Holy Mass Timings: 5:00 a.m., 7:00 a.m., and 9:30 a.m. • Eucharistic Chapel Timings: 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Participatory Structures The parish actively functions through participatory bodies including: 1. Anbiyams (Basic Christian Communities – BCC) 2. Fifteen Pastoral Commissions Christian Life Societies and Pious Associations The following spiritual and devotional associations are active in the parish: 1. Holy Childhood Association 2. Eucharistic Crusaders 3. Altar Boys Association 4. Amalorpava Matha Sodality 5. Holy Family Sodality 6. Legion of Mary – 7 Presidiums 7. St. Vincent de Paul Society Other Associations and Activities

What this source establishes

The parish's own count. Set it beside the census (9,220 for the whole town) and the diocese's own roll (~7,350 in ~1,600 families) and it does not survive as an assertion — which is why the page now attributes all three instead of picking the flattering one.