San Thome Cathedral

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Address: 38, San Thome High Road, Chennai, India
Admission: Free

ATTRACTION Keywords:
Cultural Experience, Holy Place, Popular with Locals, Tip - What to See & Do, Church / Cathedral

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Saint Thomas the Apostle, or ‘Doubting Thomas,’ as he was later called, came to India in 52 AD where he purportedly lived out the remainder of his days. The 16th century Sao Thome Cathedral, built by the Roman Catholic Portuguese and later rebuilt by the British, is said to house the bodily remains of St Thomas in a tomb below the white neo-Gothic structure.

A series of stained glass windows inside the basilica depict scenes from St Thomas’s life and carved wooden panels recount the last days of Jesus’s life from his last temptation to the crucifixion. As a working cathedral, visitors are welcome to stop in for mass (in both English and Tamil), though the church draws larger crowds for mass.

After visiting the main cathedral, view the tomb of St Thomas in the underground Tomb Chapel, accessible from outside the main church structure. Another structure on the grounds houses a small museum containing artifacts related to St Thomas and a theater showing a video about his life.

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Review by caroline c, February 2013
Doing what: Small-Group Cultural Walking Tour of Mylapore Neighborhood in Chennai