Attractions Of Chennai: Santhome Casthedral Basilica

Santhome Casthedral Basilica:

flickr: The Santhome Cathedral Basilica

The Santhome Cathedral Basilica in Chennai is a holy place, especially for the Catholic Christians.  Santhome was a small settlement of the Portuguese who arrived in the Mylapore shores in the 16th century. There are three places in chennai that stand out as monuments of honour, speaking aloud about the presence, activity and the martyrdom of St. Thomas, the Apostle of India. They are 1. Little Mount, 2. St Thomas Mount, 3. San Thome Cathedral Basilica. The National Shrine of St. Thomas Basilica is built over the tomb of Apostle St.Thomas.  St.Thomas one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, martyred in A.D.72 and was buried here in  Mylapore. The architecture of this cathedral has been executed in accordance to the gothic style.

San Thome Basilica is the tamil version as named after Saint Thomas located  at the south end of Marina Beach. History encrypts that he had come to India in 52 AD and after preaching on the West Coast, he came to Chennai, and suffered martyrdom on a hill at the outskirts of the city, today known as "St. Thomas Mount in 78 A.D. His body was buried on the spot over which the present Basilica stands. This Cathedral Basilica is a matter of pride to the nation and to all of us, because it is built over the tomb of an Apostle of Jesus Christ. There are three Basilicas, all over the world, that are built over the tomb of the apostles. The first one is St peter's Basilica in Rome, the second one on the tomb of St James, and the third one is the tomb chapel of St Thomas in San Thome Cathedral Basilica in Chennai. 

The cathedral has been built in a typical neo Gothic style. The 50 meters high building has been constantly renovated, following the ravages made by the time. An important fact regarding the cathedral is that, it is the second only church in the world that has been erected over the burial place of an apostle. The cathedral holds a 3 foot high statue of Virgin Mary, believed to be imported from Portugal in the year 1543 A.D. The Cathedral Basilica was restored and consecrated on 12th December 2004 by the Apostolic Nuncio his Excellency Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana and Cardinal Ivan Dias of Mumbai. On  8th September 2005 the present Archbishop of Madras Mylapore His Grace, Most Rev Dr. A M Chinnappa SDB DD, PhD issued a decree officially elevating this Cathedral parish as a Shrine of the Archdioces. 

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