Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Pondicherry

Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Pondicherry
Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Pondicherry
	Front view of the cathedral with Sacred Heart of Jesus statue visible.
	Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Pondicherry Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Pondicherry
	11°55′59″N 79°49′50″E / 11.93299°N 79.83055°E
Location	Pondicherry, Puducherry
Country	India
Denomination	Catholic
History
Former name(s)	St. Paul's Church
Authorising papal bull	1692
Status	Cathedral and Parish church
Founder(s)	Jesuits
Dedication	Immaculate Conception of Blessed Virgin Mary
Consecrated	1791
Past bishop(s)	Msgr. Michael Augustine
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architectural type	Cathedral
Style	Herrerian
Groundbreaking	1699
Completed	1791
Demolished	Three time in the years:; 1693 by Dutch; Around 1730; 1761 by British; But church was re-built at the same site every time.
Administration
Archdiocese	Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore
Parish	Cathedral Parish
Clergy
Archbishop	Msgr. Francis Kalist
Priest(s)	Rev. Fr. Alphonse Sandanam
Assistant priest(s)	Rev. Fr. Arulpushparaja

Immaculate Conception Cathedral (French: Cathédrale de l'Immaculée-Conception de Pondichéry, Tamil: தூய அமலோற்பவ அன்னை பேராலயம்) is the cathedral mother church for the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore. It is located in the Union territory of Puducherry. The church is also known as Samba Kovil^[1] (Tamil: சம்பா கோயில்), which is a phonetic corruption of "Saint Paul's Kovil" where "Kovil" means church.

History

The Jesuit Fathers came to the French colony of Pondicherry as missionaries in 1689. There they bought a very large garden to the west of the French Fort. In 1692 they, with the financial help of Louis XIV, king of France, erected a church which was demolished by the Dutch in the following year. A second Church was quickly built in 1699 but could not last long.

From 1728 to 1736 a large church was built on the site of the present Cathedral. This third church was razed to the ground by the British in 1761 during the Seven Years' War.

Erecting in 1765 provisionally (fourth in serial) a functional kind of irregularly shaped shed where the Mission Press (official press depot of the archdiocese) is now since the year 1770 the Fathers were earnest in building the present cathedral on the foundations of the 3rd Church. On 20 June 1791, the main work was finished and the Church was consecrated by Bishop Champenois. The Bell Tower was built later. The choir loft was added in 1905. The Sanctuary was remodeled in the year 1970. The esplanade in front of the Cathedral was remodeled in 1987, to allow people to take part in liturgical ceremonies and special functions held outside.

The Fest of this Church i.e., Immaculate Conception of Blessed Virgin Mary falls on 8 December. Now the church which stands for around 300 years is also the place where the bishop's house is situated. Mass services are conducted in Tamil and English.

It is one of the oldest tourist sites in Puducherry and was visited by Mother Teresa during her visit to Puducherry.

Gallery

The Church

Photo taken in 1860, possibly by French photographer Charles Moyne.^[2]
Nave
Central altar of the church with the bishop's cathedra visible on the right hand side covered with a green cloth
Right side Altar for Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, renovated during the year of Faith
Main Door - View from the central high altar