St Joseph's Cathedral 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 A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

, India. It is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Hyderabad and one of the most beautiful churches of

and

Secunderabad Secunderabad () is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of the South ...

cities of

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

, India.

History

Established in 1820 AD, the construction of the present structure began in 1869 when Fr. Antonio Tagliabue of the

Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions The Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions or PIME (; ) is a society of secular priests and lay people who dedicate their lives to missionary activities in: Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Hong Kong, Ind ...

(PIME), bought an extensive plot of land near Chaderghat, in what is now called

Gunfoundry The Gunfoundry also known as ''Top ka Sancha'' (1783 AD) was a cannonball factory set up by the second Nizam of Hyderabad, Nawab Mir Nizam Ali Khan at Fateh Maidan in Hyderabad, India. The historic Aliya High School for Boys and Mehboobia Co ...

(so named for the ammunition centre built there by the

Nizam Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...

of Hyderabad), to build a school, a church and a convent. Msgr. Pietro Caprotti (Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions), laid its foundation on 18 March 1870, the eve of the Solemnity of

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

. Fr. Luigi Malberti (Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions), took charge in 1872 and completed the main building, which was consecrated and opened for divine worship on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

of 1875. Hyderabad was made a separate diocese in 1886 AD, and in a

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistor ...

held in 1887,

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

declared St. Joseph's as the Cathedral of the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

. It was elevated as a 'Metropolitan See'

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

in 1953.

Architecture

The

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

and the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

s were completed in 1891. The huge bells, imported from Italy, were installed in 1892 AD. The bells are tuned in such a fashion that many

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

s can be played on different themes especially hymn of our Lady "Ave Maria" . The centre hall is very big and hence it can accommodate about 500 people at a time for prayers. In the main alcove inside the church, there is an imitation of the famous

Pietà The Pietà (; meaning "pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Mary (mother of Jesus), Blessed Virgin Mary cradling the mortal body of Jesus Christ after his Descent from the Cross. It is most often found in sculpture. ...

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

. Extensive renovation work was performed on the roof and interior of the structure between 2004 and 2008, making it necessary at one point for Mass to be held in the newly constructed multipurpose hall on the cathedral grounds. A beautiful granite wainscot has been added to the cathedral sanctuary walls and column bases, and new granite flooring has been added throughout, as well as a new roof, new lighting and electrical fixtures. Much of the artwork, including the beautifully carved marble side altars and marble statues of Mother Mary and St Anthony, an antique European oil painting of the Blessed Mother and Christ Child (Madonna and the Child by

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ( , ; late December 1617, baptized January 1, 1618April 3, 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contempor ...

)which was gifted to the cathedral by one of the

Nizams Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I ...

, an antique set of the Stations of the Cross in high

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

made by European craftsmen, and various other statues, were cleaned and restored at this time. In December 2007, the cathedral was re-opened for the celebration of Holy Mass during the Christmas celebrations. Extensive construction on the grounds, including the grand entrance stairway from the street to the cathedral, and a large terrace with a multipurpose hall below, was begun in 2001 under the administration of then parish priest, Rev. Fr. T. Lourdu. The renovation was completed during the tenure of Rev. Fr. C Arogyam.

Location

The church is located at

, north of

Abids Abids is a major commercial center in Hyderabad, India. Abids is well known as the oldest and most famous business area in Hyderabad. The state government building (TSFC), and the President Plaza, Badshah palace are located here. Unlike most mar ...

and

King Kothi King Kothi Palace or Nazri Bagh Palace is a royal palace in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was the palace where the erstwhile ruler of Hyderabad State, Sir Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam, lived. It was a palace bought by his father Mahb ...

, in

, India. Google map
St Joseph's Cathedral, Hyderabad, India

Masses offered

Daily Mass: *6:00 am (English) *6:00 pm (English) Sundays: *6:30 am (English) *8:00 am (English) *9:15 am (

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

) *11:30 am (English) *6:00 pm (English) Christmas and Easter : *10:30 pm (Midnight Mass-English) *6:30 am (English) *8:00 am (English) *9:15 am (

) *Please note there is no evening mass.

References

External links

St Joseph's Cathedral website
from

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

Diocese of Hyderabad
from

The Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...