Immaculate Conception Cathedral (french: Cathédrale de l'Immaculée-Conception de Pondichéry, ta, தூய அமலோற்பவ அன்னை பேராலயம்) is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

mother church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral or a metro ...

for the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore la, Pondicherien(sis) et Cuddaloren(sis) is an archdiocese located in the cities of Pondicherry and Cuddalore in India. History With a land area of 11,348 square kilome ...

. It is located in the Union territory of

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry t ...

. The church is also known as Samba Kovil ( ta, சம்பா கோயில்), which is a phonetic corruption of "Saint Paul's Kovil" where "Kovil" means church.

History

The

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

Fathers came to the French colony 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 ...

as missionaries in 1689. There they bought a very large garden to the west of the French Fort. In the 1692 they, with the financial help of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

king of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the first ...

, 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 The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. Erecting in 1765 provisionally (fourth in serial) a functional kind of irregular 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 A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

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 The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

falls on 8 December. Now the church which stands for around 300 years is also the place where the bishop house is also situated.

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

services in Tamil and English are conducted. It is one of the oldest tourist sites in Puducherry., and was visited by

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...

during her visit to Puducherry.

Gallery

The Church

File:Puducherry Cathedral 1860.jpg, Photo taken in 1860, possibly by French photographer Charles Moyne.BBC In pictures: Former French colony of Pondicherry in India
/ref> File:ImmaculateConceptionPondy28.JPG, Nave File:Puducherry Immaculate Conception Cathedral interior(2).jpg, Central altar of the church with the bishop's

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

visible on the right hand side covered with a green cloth File:Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Puducherry Cathedral.jpg, Right side Altar for Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, renovated during the year of Faith File:Pondy cathedral view from altar.jpg, Main Door - View from the central high altar

Statues and Altars in the Church

Joseph pondy cathedral.jpg, St. Joseph's Altar OL good health pondy cathedral.jpg, Our Lady of Good Health Altar Sacred Heart pondy cathedral.jpg, Sacred Heart Altar Theresa of lisieux pondy cathedral.jpg, St. Theresa of Lisieux Altar OL Rosary pondy cathedral.jpg, Our Lady of Holy Rosary with St. Dominic Francis of assisi pondy cathedral.jpg, St. Francis of Assisi Baptismal font pondy cathedral.jpg,

Baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

Stoups pondy cathedral.jpg,

Stoups A holy water font or stoup is a vessel containing holy water which is generally placed near the entrance of a church. It is often placed at the base of a crucifix or religious representation. It is used in the Catholic Church, Anglican Churches ...

Grotto pondy cathedral.jpg, Grotto near the gate Christ the King, Puducherry Cathedral.jpg, Christ the King statue installed by Bishop Colas in 1933

Cathedral Cemetery

Cathedral Cemetery, Pondicherry (1).jpg Cathedral Cemetery, Puducherry (4).jpg Cathedral Cemetery, Puducherry (5).jpg Cathedral Cemetery, Puducherry (6).jpg Cathedral Cemetery, Puducherry (7).jpg, Missionaries buried here Tombs of Bishops - Cathedral Cemetery, Puducherry.jpg, Tombs of Bishops of the Archdiocese

References