Appendix 3
Our Lady of Mylapore
Closely connected with the history of the Cathedral in San Thome
is the great devotion, from ancient times, to Our Lady of
Mylapore63.
Is it a mere coincidence that the Image of Our Lady (of Mylapore)
venerated in the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Thomas at Mylapore
should be intimately connected with the tomb of St. Thomas, the
Apostle, near which it has been for more than 400 years?
St.John Damascene, who died in the year 749, is known for his
defense of the veneration of images. He records that, according to
an ancient tradition, at the time of the death of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, the Apostles, who had been preaching in different parts of
the world, assembled to be present at her last moments of life.
They had a vision of the angels and heard them singing. After her
death, the Apostles gave her burial and the singing continued for
three consecutive days. After the singing ceased, Thomas, who
was not with the other Apostles arrived and was anxious to see the
sacred remains of Mary. In the presence of the assembled
Apostles, the sepulchre of Our Lady was opened, but to their great
consternation, they found that the grave was empty. Thus Thomas’
late arrival led the apostles to believe in the Bodily Assumption of
the Blessed Virgin into Heaven.
It would seem, therefore, that this close association of her Image
with the tomb of the apostle may signify Our Lady’s predilection for
this “Doubting Thomas”, who on a previous memorable occasion
was chosen to confirm the fact of Christ’s Resurrection. Thomas
at the sepulchre of Our Lady and a prominent the image of Our
Lady at the sepulchre of St. Thomas does not seem just a mere
coincidence! In fact in the two other shrines of St. Thomas, not too
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far from Mylapore, namely Little Mount and St. Thomas Mount
there is also this very significant coincidence; in the former it is Our
Lady of Health who is venerated very much even to this day; and
in the latter it is Our Lady of Expectation.
According to a Syrian tradition, St.Thomas received Our Lady’s
girdle after her Assumption. And this girdle is connected with some
local legends, as recorded by Bishop John de Marignolli, who was
in Mylapore for about four days in 1349. A wondrously large log
came floating from Ceylon to Mylapore, which the King with his
elephants and men could not drag it ashore. St. Thomas with his
girdle dragged it to the place where he built his own church and
where he was later buried. Was that the girdle that belonged to Our
Lady that was given to him after her Assumption?
It is said that in Westminster Abbey, England, there is a girdle of
St. Thomas. Was this girdle taken from Mylapore, when King
Alfred the Great sent his Embassy to Mylapore in 883 A.D. in
fulfillment of a vow that he made to St.Thomas?
The Image of Our Lady of Mylapore was also very closely
connected with St. Francis Xavier, the second Apostle of India, who
at the beginning of May 1545 made a pilgrimage on foot from
Nagapatam to the sepulchre of St. Thomas at Mylapore. He spent
about four months there, in continual prayer. He was imploring God,
through the intercession of Mary and St. Thomas, to be pleased to
make known to him, whether it was his divine will that he should
go to the Far East or not, for the mission of proclaiming the Gospel.
During his stay at Mylapore, St. Francis Xavier was the guest of
the Vicar, Father Gaspar Coelho, who later vouched for the fact
that Xavier spent his nights in prayer before the Queen of the
Angels, imploring her protection against the demons who, furious
with the saintly pilgrim priest for securing thousands of their wouldbe
victims used to beat him during the dark hours of his nights of
prayer.
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The image of wood three feet high, represents Our Lady seated on
a throne, her hands joined in prayer and her eyes piously cast down.
She wears a long-sleeved robe; a veil covers her head falling upon
her shoulders in the form of a long mantle. Below the veil the edge
of a second head-covering is to be seen, passing around the neck
and continuing almost to the waist. But the mantle and the veil are
gilded; the second head-covering is white, constituting a delicate
frame for the beautifully carved features. Mouth, nose and eyes are
finely fashioned and are of exquisite beauty. The whole statue
reveals western workmanship, and can be safely assumed to have
been brought by the Portuguese. It was probably brought by
Fr.Gaspar Coelho in 1543, when he came here as a Parish Priest,
for there are no records of it before his arrival. It is not only the
oldest, but also by far the most beautiful statue of Our Lady. There
is a similar statue which is also very historical, known as Our Lady,
Mother of God, in the Church of Saligao in the Archdiocese of Goa,
but the statue of Mylapore far exceeds it in beauty. When one
kneels before it, one instinctively feels drawn to prolong one’s
prayers.
It is from the time of the arrival of St. Francis Xavier at Mylapore
in 1545 that this Image has become famous and has been held in
great veneration and devotion by all the people, as the process for
the Canonization of St. Francis Xavier testifies.
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