The visit to this Our Lady of Snows Basilica at
Thoothukudi was a part of the “Temples and Heritage Sites of Thoothukudi District
Visit” on 15th February 2025.
The
Lady of Snows Basilica is dedicated to Mother Mary and faces east with a high
mast. The locals call it Sanda Maria Das Nevis, which means Our Lady of Snows
in Portuguese. This Basilica is on the Palk Strait seashore. The Church was elevated
to Basilica by John Paul II in 1982.
HISTORY
AND INSCRIPTIONS
In
1538 CE, the first Parish St. Peter’s Church was constructed with Fr. Peter
Gonsalvez as the Parish Priest. St. Paul’s Chapel was constructed after the
arrival of St. Francis Xavier, a Jesuit Missionary, in 1548 CE. The Miraculous
statue of Mother Mary was installed in 1582 CE, which came in 1555 CE through
the ship named Santa Helena, after St. Paul’s Chapel was reconstructed as a concrete structure.
In
1658, when the Protestant Dutch rule began in Thoothukudi, the feast of Our
Lady of Snows was banned, the Catholic Churches were taken away and made
warehouses, and celebrating the Holy Mass was prohibited. The Dutch tried to
convert the Chapel into a Protestant Church and the locals from Catholic to
Protestant. The Mother Mary’s statue was shifted to many places to protect it from the Protestants. In 1610 CE, Mother Mary’s statue was brought back and reinstalled during British rule. An exclusive new church was constructed and consecrated
for Mother Mary and was called Our Lady of Snows in 1713 CE, by Fr. Vigilius
Mansi S.J. The First Golden Car procession was started on 2nd February
1806 CE. From 1895 CE, this Our Lady of Snows came under the control of the Mylapore diocese and later came under the control of the Thoothukudi diocese after its formation in 1930.
The
church of Our Lady of Snows, Thoothukudi, was raised to the Status of Minor
Basilica by Pope John Paul II due to the efforts of Rt. Rev. Bishop Amalanathar
and Parish Priest Rev. Fr. L. Miranda, from 20th July 1982.
Ref:
HOW
TO REACH
Our
Lady of Snows Church is on the ECR (East Coast Road) on the seashore, about a
km from Thoothukudi Railway Station, 3.5 km from Thoothukudi new bus stand, 39
km from Thiruchendur, and 48 km from Tirunelveli.
The nearest
Railway Station is Thoothukudi.
LOCATION
OF THE BASILICA: CLICK HERE
Flag mast
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OM SHIVAYA NAMA---
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