A visit to the tomb of St. Thomas

The Santhome Cathedral Basilica Church in Chennai is a sacred place, especially for the Catholic Christians. The church and its ambience are so beautiful and peaceful. The construction and architecture is mind blowing. This santhome church is among the three churches in the world where Jesus Christ’s apostles were buried. So that this church occupies a special place in the hearts of people especially Christians.

 Santhome was a small settlement of the Portuguese who arrived in the Mylapore shores in the 16th century. Santhome has many Catholic institutions including 100 year old buildings, garden houses, convents and the pride of the place, Santhome Basilica. A walk down the area gives the hint of what the Portuguese era would have been like in the 1600s.

 

It is believed that St. Thomas arrived on the coast of Malabar and after building churches and converting many locals, came to Mylapore in 52 A.D., where he built a small chapel. The Portuguese repeatedly built on the ruins of the St. Thomas Church. The church was then taken by the British in 1740 when the Portuguese power began to wane in the region. This church has the status of a minor basilica. So, originally the old church was built in the 16th century by Portuguese explorers and rebuilt again with the status of cathedral by the British in 1893. The British version still stands today.

 

The name of Santhome Cathedral Basilica is the Tamil version for the name St. Thomas, who is an archbishop of the Catholic Christians. St. Thomas who was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ was buried in this place and as a tribute to his soul; a church has been built up in this southern part of Marina beach.

 

This church in Chennai, erected in accordance to the Neo-Gothic style of architecture, was favored by the British architects of the 19th century. Its 183 feet high spire was built in 1894. Also, you can read the stained glass, where the divine moment of St. Thomas's meeting with the resurrected Christ is been depicted. Some remains of the corpse and also a part of the St. Thomas's bone have been preserved in the crypt that is situated in the center of the church.

 

There is also a museum where all the artefacts related to St. Thomas and the era, have been carefully assembled. An interesting object in the museum is the spear that killed the saint. Inscriptions on stones tell the deeds of St. Thomas and also the two postage stamps that were released. There is also a mini theatre where visitors can view a short film on the life of St. Thomas. Recently, the Santhome Basilica Cathedral celebrated its 400 years of the Diocese of Mylapore.