Santhome Cathedral





 The  Santhome  Cathedral view from the grounds of residence of   Archbishop of  Madras Mylapore  constructed in early  1950s. After the Portuguese colonised Madras in 1523 the  first building activity  that they did was to  renovate the  " Old Sepulchre of St.Thomas and convert it into a chapel. The  Chapel was raised into a church  in 1536 and a portico was added due to increased congregation. The  tomb of St.Thomas  in this church  became a pilgrimage centre visited by the Thomas Christians of Kerala. Albert De Mandelslo a traveller who visited Mylapore in 1638 mentions about the church without a steeple. The  tomb of St.Thomas was opened on 29th  April 1729 to  distribute earth to pilgrims.  The  population of  Catholics  in Madras was around  47500 as per the data given by the Archdiocese of Madras in 1842. The  Portuguese built church was demolished in 1893 and the  present Cathedral with a tall steeple was consecrated in 1896.

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