Celebrations were held in Kerala last month in a Syro-Malabar parish named for Sts Gervasis and Prothasis.

The saints were twin brothers who were scourged and beheaded for their faith in the second century near Milan in Italy.

The first gathering of twins to mark the feast in Kerala was in 2007, when 35 pairs attended.

The celebration in Kothanalloor includes a procession of twins, a dedication service led by Palai Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt, Mass and lunch for 3000 people.

Fr George Njarakunnel said his parish collects funds and hosts guests from across Kerala state.

This year's gathering included five sets of twin nuns and three pairs of twin priests.

One school sent 23 sets of twins.

Kothanalloor parish alone has 62 pairs of twins among its 750 families.

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Both men were admitted to the hospital just days before dying of heart failure. They were aged 92.

Brother Julian died in the morning and Brother Adrian died in the evening, after being told of Julian's death.

Few who knew them were surprised, and many were relieved, as it would have been hard to imagine one surviving without the other.

The twins, who spent the past three years in retirement at a Franciscan friary in St. Petersburg, had been Franciscan brothers for 65 years.

They were like paired birds of Franciscan brown. If Brother Julian was gardening in front of the friary, Brother Adrian weeded in the back. If Adrian was driving the van, Julian sat by his side. Preparing the altar for chapel, chopping wood for kindling, exulting in ice cream at the Twist & Shake, the identical Riester twins were together, always.

Sources

• NY Times
• American Catholic