The winding road down the Kottapuram junction leads to the St Mary’s Vizhinjam Football Ground, the first playing field of Sanju Samson in his hometown of Vizhinjam. Close to the ground, beside the beach, is the St Mary’s Church, a four-century-old church with a cappella of Mother Mary at its roof and a cross attached to its spire. The church, the fishing village’s heartbeat, is where the locals unfailingly gather for mass on Sunday. “Faith is central to our existence. When we go to the sea, we believe Virgin Mary is with us, helping us through the rough winds,” Sanju’s grandfather Anthonis says. Capturing the essence of the locality, the more decorous name of the church is Our Lady of Good Voyage. Faith wafts through the sea breeze in the fishing harbour, largely constituting Latin Catholics. Every house has a miniature altar of the Virgin Mary, or a painted portrait. The first set of dates they mark on the calendar is the festival week (perunal in local speak). “Wherever in the world, the parish members …