The Basilica of the Holy Redeemer, Tiruchirappalli is one of five

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minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

s in the southern state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

History

The origins of the basilica can be traced to the early decades of the 17th century, when

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missionaries began spreading

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

through the Madurai Mission. The first conversions occurred in the area known as

Tiruchirappalli Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

, also called "Trichy", in 1616. The missionaries eventually got support from the

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Naicker rulers of Madurai. The many Jesuit missionaries who worked in the Madurai Mission included

Robert de Nobili Roberto de Nobili (1577 – 16 January 1656) was an Italian Jesuit missionary to Southern India. He used a novel method of adaptation ( accommodatio) to preach Christianity, adopting many local customs of India which were, in his view, not con ...

and

Constanzo Beschi Constantine Joseph Beschi (8 November 1680 – 4 February 1747), also known under his Tamil name of ''Vīramāmunivar'', was an Italian Jesuit priest, missionary in South India, and Tamil language littérateur. Early years Born in Castiglione ...

. While Trichy was still a mission station of the Madurai Mission, several Christian communities were established in Palakkarai, Dharmanathapuram, and Varaganeri. Even before the construction of the Holy Redeemer Church, there were some 7500 Christians in the area. They worshiped at the St. Mary's Cathedral, Trichy, rather than at Our Lady of Sorrows because the latter was under the administration of the

Portuguese Padroado The ''Padroado'' (, "patronage") was an arrangement between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Portugal and later the Portuguese Republic, through a series of concordats by which the Holy See delegated the administration of the local churches and g ...

. Realizing the need for the Christians of

Palakkarai Palakkarai is a neighbourhood of the Indian city of Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. It is the main residential and densely populated area in the city, including many slums. Many city buses ply through this area. A famous historical church is also l ...

to have a church of their own, Bishop Alexis Canoz, S.J. laid the foundation for a new church on 9 February 1880. The church of the Most Holy Redeemer was consecrated on 29 June 1881 by the Vicar Apostolic of

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

, Msgr. François-Jean-Marie Laouënan, M.E.P. The land for the construction of the church was a gift from the local ruler, Diwan Kanjamalai Medullar.

Devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help

In 1957 the

novena A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pen ...

devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help was introduced by the parish priest, Rev. A. Thomas, after a parish mission conducted by the

Redemptorist The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...

priest Rev. Francis. The devotion has continued till the present as hundreds of devotees, Christian and non-Christian, gather to pray on Wednesdays.

Minor basilica

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

raised the church of the Most Holy Redeemer to the dignity of a minor basilica on 12 October 2006. The request for the elevation of the church to a basilica was presented to the

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by the Bishop of Trichy, Most Rev. Antony Devotee while Rev. A. Gabriel was the parish priest.basilica status

Art and architecture

The inner walls of this church are adorned with oil paintings of the saints and scenes from the Old and New Testaments.

Bishops of Tiruchirapalli Diocese

*Bishop

Alexis Canoz Alexis Canoz S.J., (8 September 1805 – 2 December 1888) was a Jesuit missionary in India and was the first bishop of Trichy. He was born on 8 September 1805 at Sellières, France. In 1846 the Madura Mission was made into a vicariate Apostol ...

, S.J. 1846–1888 *Bishop John Barthe, S.J. 1888–1913 *Bishop Ange-August Faisandier, S.J. 1913–1936 *Bishop John Peter Leonard, S.J. 1936–1938 *Bishop James Mendonça 1938–1970 *Bishop Thomas Fernando 1971–1990 *Bishop Lawrence Gabriel 1990–1997 *Msgr. Vincent Mathias (administrator) 1997–1999 *Bishop Peter Fernando 2000–2001 *Bishop Anthony Devotta 2001–2018 *Bishop.Devadoss Ambrose (administrator) 2018-2021 *Bishop Savarimuthu Arockia Raj 2021–

References