St. Thomas Basilica

Do you know that there are only three churches in the world built atop a tomb of an apostle of Christ? These are the St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican, the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (St. James) in Spain and the St. Thomas Basilica in Channai in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. On March 1, 2008, I was blessed to visit St. Thomas Basilica and pray before the remains of St. Thomas. The basilica, which is smaller compared to its counterparts in other part of the world, is situated along one of Chennai's marinas. Gracing the walls of the church are paintings of Christ and His apostles with inscriptions highlighting their famous words and contributions in Christian faith.

The basilica is considered as the center for Christian pilgrimage in India and the main church for the Mylapore-Chennai archdiocese. It was declared an international shrine in 2006. Underneath the basilica is a chapel which houses the remains and relics connected to St. Thomas. It has a separate access outside of the church to allow pilgrims to pray to St. Thomas without disturbing the functions of the church. It looks like a dungeon - dark but gives an ambience of calmness and serenity. From the photos at the entrance of the chapel, I gathered that Pope John Paul II paid homage to the apostle known for doubting the resurrected Christ during one of his visits to India. Displayed in front of the chapel is a glass oesophagus which encases a ceramic sculpture of St. Thomas which purportedly cloaks his remains .

The church was built by the Portuguese in the 16th century and was rebuilt by the British in 1893 using the neo-Gothic architectural design. St. Thomas the doubter is said to have preached in Chennai between 52 to 72 AD and was killed in what is now known as the St. Thomas Mount.