The Sacred Heart Cathedral is a cathedral of the Syro-Malabar Catholic rite in

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat, and is in the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area in India, with a population of ...

. It is also known as Prem Mandir, meaning 'temple of love' in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

and

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

. The cathedral, which is dedicated to the

Sacred Heart of Jesus The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This dev ...

, is situated near the bishop's house. The striking aspect of the cathedral is its architecture which predominantly resembles a traditional Indian temple, but in fact blends architectural features of various religions. The cathedral was designed by Ashwinbhai Sanghvi and the glass work was done by Balan. It has domes and a pinnacle, and its arches and granite carvings are inspired by Indian mosques. There is a mosaic of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

seated in a meditation pose above a lotus like an Indian holy man. The symbols depicted on the windows and doors are flame, flute and lotus. Each of the church's five domes is engraved with symbols of other religions. An oriental-style cross on a lotus flower stands atop the main dome.

References

Prem Mandir at GCatholic.org encyclopedia
Eastern Catholic cathedrals in India Buildings and structures in Rajkot Monuments and memorials in Gujarat 2000 establishments in Gujarat Syro-Malabar Catholic cathedrals {{India-EC-church-stub