The St. Mary's Cathedral, also called Garrison Church, is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

cathedral church located in

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. The cathedral is the

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 church, or ...

of the Diocese of Jammu-Srinagar. It was founded in 1986 by Bishop

Hippolytus Anthony Kunnunkal Hippolytus Anthony Kunnunkal, OFM, Cap was an Indian prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first apostolic prefect and first bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Jammu-Srinagar. Early life Kunnunkal was born on 14 March 1921 in the city of ...

, following with the diocese's elevation by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

apostolic constitution An apostolic constitution () is the most solemn form of legislation issued by the Pope.New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, pg. 57, footnote 36. By their nature, apostolic constitutions are addressed to the public. Generic constitutions use ...

''Qui Sanctissimi Numinis''.

History

Pope John Paul II 1986 apostolic constitution, ''Qui Sanctissimi Numinis'', established the Diocese of Jammu-Srinigar from the Apostolic Prefecture of Kafiristan and Kashmir in response to the church's noticeable expansion and growth in the region. The seat of this new diocese was transferred to St. Mary's Cathedral from the seat of the Prefecture, Holy Family Catholic Church, in the same year under the guidance of the first diocese's first bishop, Hippolytus. The cathedral parish also includes three sites beyond St. Mary's Cathedral: St. Thomas Church, St. Joseph's Church, and St. John Mary Vianney.

References

Roman Catholic cathedrals in India Buildings and structures in Jammu (city) Roman Catholic churches in Jammu and Kashmir {{India-RC-cathedral-stub

History

See also

References