1523tradition c. AD 72; Portuguese church 1523 · Mylapore, Chennai

San Thome and the tradition of St Thomas

The white neo-Gothic San Thome Basilica in Mylapore, Chennai, with its pointed spires and arched windows — Photo: $nowPearl. CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Christians in India have long held that the apostle Thomas preached on the Malabar and Coromandel coasts and was killed near Mylapore around AD 72. In 1523 the Portuguese built a church over his reputed tomb and founded the town of São Tomé de Meliapor. The present neo-Gothic basilica of 1896 keeps the tomb chapel, and St Thomas Mount marks the traditional place of his death.

Religious & Pilgrimage
Colonial & Imperial History
Chennai, India

Sites

Site 1: San Thome BasilicaWhite neo-Gothic basilica near the beach, with the tomb chapel beneath.Map ↗
Site 2: St Thomas MountHilltop Portuguese church at the traditional site of the martyrdom.Map ↗