PilgrimstaysSanthome Church in Chennai also known as the St Thomas Cathedral Basilica sits on the tomb built over the mortal remains of one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to legend, Saint Thomas landed at the port of Muziris in Kerala, India travelling from the Roman province of Judea in 52 AD and preached between 52 and 72 AD, when he was martyred on St Thomas Mount . He was buried in this very site then known as Mylapore. There are only two other Basilicas in the world other than San Thome Cathedral that have been built over the tomb of an Apostle. One of them being St Peters’ Basilica in Rome and the other being the church of St James the Great in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. It is claimed that St Thomas’ apostolic ministry in India took place at Cranganore along the Malabar coast from 52 to 68 AD. His journey through Kerala is said to have resulted in numerous conversions. After spending 10 years on the Malabar coast he is said to have travelled eastwards across the Deccan Plateau, arriving in Mylapore in 68 AD. The cave at little mount is claimed to be his favourite preaching spot. A 2000 year old never drying, miraculous stream of water on a rock face are said to be examples of the Apostle’s divine exploits. A church atop St Thomas Mount was built by Portuguese in 1547 to mark the spot. It was on this St Thomas Mount that the apostle was said to be killed by a lance which pierced through his back. His mortal remains were believed to be buried in the location over which the present day Cathedral stands. Sometime in the 10th century AD a group of Nestorian Christians from Persia founded the Christian village of San Thome and proceeded to build a church over the burial site of St Thomas. This structure fell to ruins between the 14th and 15th centuries. In 1522 the Portuguese moved the Apostle’s remains to a new tomb and church, which later attained the status of Cathedral in 1606. Pope Pius XII honoured the Santhome Church of the Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore by raising it to the rank of Minor Basilica on 16 March 1956.
Santhome Church in Chennai also known as the St Thomas Cathedral Basilica sits on the tomb built over the mortal remains of one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ
According to legend, Saint Thomas landed at the port of Muziris in Kerala, India travelling from the Roman province of Judea in 52 AD and preached between 52 and 72 AD, when he was martyred on St Thomas Mount
He was buried in this very site then known as Mylapore
There are only two other Basilicas in the world other than San Thome Cathedral that have been built over the tomb of an Apostle
A 2000 year old never drying, miraculous stream of water on a rock face are said to be examples of the Apostle’s divine exploits
The tomb of St Thomas — visible through a glass panel below the main altar — is the reason for the basilica's existence and the goal of every pilgrimage. Praying at the tomb of an Apostle of Jesus, in the city where he was martyred and first buried, is a connection to the earliest generation of Christianity. The tomb is visited with the same devotion as the tomb of St Peter in Rome.
The basilica contains a relic of the spear that martyred St Thomas — an artefact of enormous significance for the Thomas Christian community. The relic connects the pilgrimage to the specific act of martyrdom: the moment when Thomas paid with his life for the faith he had spent his life proclaiming.
The white Gothic facade of the Santhome Cathedral — with its pointed arches, rose window, and tower, set against the Chennai coastal light — is one of the iconic images of south Indian Christianity. The proximity to the sea (one can hear it from the basilica), the white walls, and the intensity of the light create an atmosphere of coastal holiness.
The museum at Santhome contains exhibits on the life and apostolate of St Thomas, the history of Christianity in India, and the Thomas Christian tradition. It provides the historical and theological context for the pilgrimage.
Santhome is on Chennai's eastern coast, one block from the Bay of Bengal. The sound of the sea, the coastal light, and the proximity of the water to the tomb where the Apostle of India was first buried creates a maritime pilgrimage landscape of great beauty and resonance. The Apostle came by sea. His tomb is by the sea.
Thomas doubted. Every doubter in the Church's history has been told: Thomas doubted. He demanded evidence. He said he would not believe unless he could put his finger in the nail marks and his hand in the side. And Jesus appeared again — specifically for Thomas — and offered his wounds. Thomas touched the wounds. He did not flinch. He said My Lord and my God. Then he went further than any of the other Apostles: he went to India. He went to the ends of the earth. He was martyred in a field in Chennai. The doubter went furthest. The wounds of Christ, once touched, set people in motion.
“Then he said to Thomas, Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe. Thomas said to him, My Lord and my God!”
Read in full on Bible Gateway →Santhome Church in Chennai, also known as the St Thomas Cathedral Basilica, sits on the tomb built over the mortal remains of one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to legend, Saint Thomas landed at the port of Muziris in Kerala, travelling from the Roman province of Judea in 52 AD, and preached between 52 and 72 AD, when he was martyred on St Thomas Mount. He was buried in this very site, then known as Mylapore.
There are only two other basilicas in the world, other than San Thome Cathedral, that have been built over the tomb of an Apostle: one being St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and the other the church of St James the Great in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
It is claimed that St Thomas’s apostolic ministry in India took place at Cranganore along the Malabar coast from 52 to 68 AD. His journey through Kerala is said to have resulted in numerous conversions. After spending 10 years on the Malabar coast, he is said to have travelled eastwards across the Deccan Plateau, arriving in Mylapore in 68 AD. The cave at Little Mount is claimed to be his favourite preaching spot. A 2,000-year-old, never-drying, miraculous stream of water on a rock face is said to be an example of the Apostle’s divine exploits. A church atop St Thomas Mount was built by the Portuguese in 1547 to mark the spot. It was on this St Thomas Mount that the apostle was said to be killed by a lance which pierced through his back.
His mortal remains were believed to be buried in the location over which the present-day Cathedral stands. Sometime in the 10th century AD, a group of Nestorian Christians from Persia founded the Christian village of San Thome and proceeded to build a church over the burial site of St Thomas. This structure fell to ruins between the 14th and 15th centuries. In 1522 the Portuguese moved the Apostle’s remains to a new tomb and church, which later attained the status of Cathedral in 1606.
Pope Pius XII honoured the Santhome Church of the Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore by raising it to the rank of Minor Basilica on 16 March 1956.
