Chapter 1 The Church in Mylapore
The arrival of the Portuguese in South India in 1498 (or 1500!) for
the purpose of trade certainly gave an impetus to the tradition of St.
Thomas in Mylapore. And we have already seen in detail their
activities with regard to excavating the tomb and preserving the
relics of the saint. Some of them even settled down in the town of
Mylapore overcome by a holy sentiment. Within a few years they
also made Little Mount and St. Thomas Mount hallowed pilgrim
sites. The Portuguese continued their presence in Mylapore with
the proclamation of the Gospel. What began as a trade venture by
the Portuguese merchants soon became a Christian apostolate with
the participation of the civil as well as the ecclesiastical authorities
of Portugal.
i. The Padroado Jurisdiction
In the year 1455 Pope Nicholas V had founded what has been
known as the Padroado, or ‘the right of patronage’ that is, a status
by which the King of Portugal enjoyed the privilege given by the
Church of appropriating to himself the honour of evangelizing,
establishing and administering the territories discovered by Portugal.
Hence the Christian community of Mylapore and around, as well as
other territories like Goa, Cochin, Bombay, etc., came under the
jurisdiction of the Latin rite patronized by the King of Portugal.
Such extraordinary privileges, however, were not mere gratuitous
favours conceded by the Holy See to the Crown of Portugal.
Serious obligations were attached to them. The Royal Patron had
the duty to build, and maintain churches, convents, and oratories
which might be needed in course of time for pastoral use. He had
to provide everything that was necessary for the maintenance of
cult and worship. He was also given the privilege of deputing
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vicars, rectors, chaplains and other necessary personnel for the
spiritual needs of the faithful and to support them with adequate
salary.
The first diocese to have been established in India by the Padroado
was Goa in the year 1533. A few years later, that is in 1557, Cochin
was set up as the second diocese. The Christian community of
Mylapore came under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Cochin. And
on 9th January 1606, the Portuguese Padroado, authorized of
course by Pope Paul V erected Mylapore as the third diocese in
India. The first Bishop of Mylapore was a certain Portuguese
Augustinian monk named Sebastiao de S.Pedro. The new diocese
was a suffragen of the Archdiocese of Goa, and its jurisdiction
extended to the whole of the Coromandel Coast up to Bengal,
including also Orissa, and Pegu in Burma.
It is historically recorded that St. Francis Xavier who arrived in
India in 1542 visited the tomb of St. Thomas at Mylapore in 1545
and spent some months praying there. There is a tradition that it
was here that he gained strength to continue his missionary
endeavours after constantly praying before the tomb of St. Thomas
and before an image of Our Lady which later became known as
Our Lady of Mylapore, now kept at an altar near the tomb of the
Apostle and still lovingly venerated.
ii. Tomb opened in 1729
The first Bishops of Mylapore were of the Order of St. Augustine,
Franciscans, Carmelites, Dominicans or Jesuits55. The first diocesan
priest appointed as the sixth Bishop of Mylapore was Dom Manuel
Sanches Golao (1715 - 1723)
And it was during the time of the 8th Bishop of Mylapore, Dom
Jose Pinheiro, that the tomb of St. Thomas was again opened in
1729. He also reported to the Holy See a miracle of a bright and
clear light which appeared at that time, testified by seven eyewitnesses.
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This is known to us from a letter which he wrote to the Bishop of
Verapoly which reads as follows56:
“In the month of April of the year 1729, the tomb of St. Thomas
was opened in order to distribute earth to the pilgrims. The marble
stone having been dug up, we saw a sculptural effigy of St. Thomas
representing him dressed in a garment falling down to the heals,
holding with his left hand on his breast a book, and blessing with his
right. The earth having been dug up to a depth of six Roman feet,
there was found a new and a very hard conglomeration, four inches
thick and made of mortar and small particles of marble; next there
appeared a square marble stone, three feet in dimension, at the
corners of which had been cut four small square sepulchers; then,
big bricks well joined with mortar were seen under the sand, which
was strewn between the stone and the bricks. These bricks having
been broken, moveable earth appeared, which occupied as much
space as was sufficient for burying a human body, and not more...
On the same 29th day, a bright and clear light appeared and seven
eye-witnesses, after having been sworn and examined on the
matter, testified to the fact. Whether this be the true sepulchre of
St. Thomas, I dare not assert; therefore, I submitted the matter to
the Sacred Congregation of Rites”.
iii. The Gothic Cathedral over the Tomb
It was during the episcopate of Dom Henry Jospeh Reed da Silva
(1886- 1897), the 16th Bishop of Mylapore, that the present
magnificent gothic Cathedral was constructed in such a way that
the tomb of the Apostle began to hold the central place within it.
It was hitherto in a separate chapel outside the church which was
actually built in 1523, and became the Cathedral church when
Mylapore became a diocese in 1606. But the catholic population
increased and the need for a more worthy edifice befitting the
sacred tomb that was to be enshrined within it had to be
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constructed. The new Cathedral planned would be gothic in style
and would be adorned with two spires, the higher one over the
facade in front, and a smaller one over the central position of the
church to indicate the exact place of the tomb of the Apostle. The
day chosen for laying the foundations of the new Cathedral was the
19th February 1893 being the Golden Jubilee day of the Episcopal
Consecration of His Holiness Pope Leo XIII57.
The stately and majestic gothic cathedral was solemnly consecrated
on the 1st of April 1896. The Bishop was solemnly received into the
new Cathedral and officiated at the first service held in it. The tip
of the Cross on the spire is 155 feet from ground or some 180 feet
above mean sea level. The consecration of the various parts of the
Cathedral took place on subsequent occasions by various
dignitaries.
9th May 1896: Consecration of the new bell by the Bishop of
Dacca. Captain Power (the architect of the Cathedral) and Mrs.
Power stood as sponsors to it and helped to ring the first merry
chime from it. At 5 p.m. the relics which were to be placed in the
Sepulchre of the altars were solemnly exposed in the Bishop’s
Chapel followed by the singing of Matins and Lauds.
10th. May: The Cathedral with the High Altar was consecrated by.
His Excellency Dom A.S. Valente, Patriarch of the East Indies.
The Assisting Bishops were: the Archbishop of Pondicherry, the
Bishop of Mylapore, the Bishop of Dacca and Bishop Theophilus
Meyer, auxiliary Bishop of Madras. The Prelates consecrated the
altars of the Sacred Heart, Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Joseph and
of the Blessed Sacrament. The altar of SS. Peter and Paul was
consecrated by the Bishop of Mylapore on 29th June 1896.
The devotion to Our Lady of Pompei having taken deep root in the
Cathedral, the parishioners requested the Bishop of Mylapore to
permit the altar of the Blessed Sacrament, at the entrance to the
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Cathedral be given to Our Lady of Pompei, and thus the Blessed
Sacrament was eventually removed to the altar of the Immaculate
Conception, where now the statue of Our Lady of Mylapore is
enthroned, as a temporary measure, until a new Chapel of the
Blessed Sacrament could be built. This Chapel is now where daily
Eucharistic adoration is kept.
iv. A Description of the Cathedral
The St. Thomas Cathedral58 is the munificent gift of Bishop Dom
Henry Joseph Reed da Silva, the Missionary Portuguese Bishop of
Mylapore. The sacred edifice has been dedicated to Saint Thomas,
because it stands on the site of the traditional grave of that Apostle.
The exact spot is pointed out as this grave has been neatly walled
out in marble. The Cathedral is a handsome gothic structure. The
Bishop spared neither pains nor money in procuring for the people
this splendid structure. In the execution of the work the Bishop was
fortunate enough to secure the gratuitous services of Capt. J. A.
Power, a retired officer of the Royal Engineers and a parishioner
of Mylapore, to whom the diocese is in no small measure indebted
for the unique architectural grandeur of its Cathedral structure.
With a view to fit up the building in keeping with is majestic
architecture, the Bishop, at considerable expenses got all the
required furniture and fixtures in wood manufactured under his own
and the architect’s personal supervision by Messrs Oakes & Co.
The following data as to the building had been kindly provided by
Capt. Power. The length of the nave of the Cathedral is 112 feet,
and its width 33 feet. Between the nave and the sanctuary there
is a transept, 104 feet in length and 25 feet in width. The sanctuary
is 62 feet long and 33 feet wide. The nave has two rows of
windows 18 at the bottom and 18 at the top. The back wall of the
sanctuary has a large three- paneled window of stained glass. The
three glass panels contain representations of St. Thomas, and the
other apostles, the former placing his finger into the wound in
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Christ’s side. The window was manufactured by Messrs Mayer &
Co. of Munich. On either side of this window there are two other
stained-glass windows made at Madras, under Capt. Power’s
supervision. The Bishop’s throne, situated in what was the original
sanctuary, is made of wood and is a handsome gothic structure.
Now we see St. Thomas himself seated on this throne. The
Cathedral steeple stands 155 feet from the ground. Before the
sanctuary there is a large gothic arch of 27 feet and 41 feet high.
There is also a corresponding arch separating the nave from the
transept, which is 36 feet high. On either side of the transept in line
with the walls of the nave are two arches 26 feet high. Around all
the arches there are vine mouldings in bas-relief. The capitals of all
imposts are ornamented with vine leaf in alto relief, designed and
carried out by Capt. Power. The height of the nave from the floor
to the ceiling is 36 feet, that of the transept 42 feet and that of the
sanctuary 41 feet. The verandahs on both sides extending the entire
length of the nave are nine feet wide. The facade of the Cathedral
has three doors with rectangular mouldings on the top and it is
surmounted by two rectangular turrets. The tower, up to the spire
contains three stories. The topmost one was constructed to hold a
clock while the second is now the belfry.
During the construction of the Cathedral the tomb of the Apostle
was not interfered with except that it acquired a central position in
the great edifice. But in 1903 in view of the tri-centenary of the
erection of the Mylapore diocese, (1606-1906), the tomb was
widened towards the west and an open crypt was built. Prior to this
arrangement of an open crypt with access from within the church
itself, the tomb of the Apostle h’ke any other tomb found in the
church, was completely closed and covered with hard flooring.
The description of the open crypt is as follows: It was slightly
rectangular in shape about 12 ft x 12 ft., and 7ft 7 inches in depth.
It was protected by a brass railing above. A short flight of four
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steps led to a small platform from which two flights of six steps one
on each side led down to the floor of the crypt. At the eastern
extremity was a beautiful marble altar under which was an open
grave 6ft x 1 ft and 5ft 9 inches deep.
The new arrangement of an open crypt of the tomb was a great
boon to the pilgrims and devotes of St. Thomas. And the Cathedral
itself continued to be the pride of Christians as well as non-
Christians in the city of Madras. The spire which can be seen from
anywhere in the great city became a great landmark.
