Apostle St. Thomas in Chennai (Madras)

Rev. Father P. J. Lawrence Raj, who was then a subordinate priest, penned several letters to Catholic bishops in the hopes of receiving a reply. He wrote to offices that publish religious publications about Christianity rather than seeing it fail.

The first individual to introduce the Christian faith to the Indians was, historically, Saint Thomas. He was a member of Lord Jesus Christ’s twelve apostles. He landed on the Indian soil of Malabar Coast after arriving in India in 52 AD.

St. Thomas is nearly forgotten in modern-day Chennai. In an effort to address this issue, Fr. Raj wrote the letters. The letters were written by Fr. Raj in Chennai, on a little hill called St. Thomas Mount, which overlooks the Chennai airport. A party of Hindus is thought to have killed St. Thomas at the same place. They murdered him because Indians believe Lord Jesus Christ to be their savior.

In India, St. Thomas is a prime example of a real Christian, according to Rev. Raj. He feels so linked to him for that reason. However, Indians continue to have doubts about the saint’s close relationship with their nation.

Fr. Raj was employed by some of Chennai’s top churches during his 36 years of service. The series includes Little Mount Church, where he is now serving, Velankanni Church of Mother Mary, and Santhome Basilica, where St. Thomas is interred. The location where St. Thomas is thought to have taken refuge from his killers in a cave is said to be Little Mount Church.

The apostle is thought to have lived and preached the gospel in Chennai for more than thirteen years. Many of the buildings in the city, such as churches, schools, and hospitals, are named after him. The festivals honoring him, however, no longer attract thousands of attendees. In contrast, they are overshadowed by other events, like the well-known Velankanni festival.

In the time between when St. Thomas was killed and the first Portuguese, who were mainly devotees of Our Lady, arrived in India, the Indians were ignorant of what transpired, according to Fr. Raj. But the Tamils’ dedication to Our Lady grew after this period. This devotion grew in the 1970s, when the Velankanni Church was established in Chennai’s Besant Nagar. Additionally, many Tamils have a similar bond with Mother Teresa or other contemporary saints as they do with St. Francis Xavier. The apostle was mostly overlooked by the average Tamil Nadu resident rather than by the local clergy. Despite this, the people of Kerala have remained devoted to St. Thomas for over 2,000 years. Indeed, the Malayalis prefer to be referred to as St. Thomas Christians.

The attempts made by Fr. Raj to restore the almost lost glory of the apostle to the Roman Catholic population of Chennai have been aggressive.

The duties of renovation reflect his similar but higher-level efforts. For example, he refurbished the Santhome Basilica in the early 2000s. Thomas is buried in a chamber beneath the floor of this chapel. The tomb, according to Fr. Raj, represents the gospel’s initial dissemination in India.

The exclusive church was made more accessible to tourists by the remodeling work, which cost Rupees 67 lakh. He is also working to restore the Little Mount Church, where he is currently employed. Additionally, he renovated the Nungambakkam-based St. Teresa’s Church. Even when accused of dishonestly utilizing the supplied money for the project, he continued to carry out a wide range of different duties related to the work of rehabilitation nonstop.

An old, tiny guy by the name of D’Cruz is seeking the same objective at Little Mount Church. He asserts an unrivaled connection to St. Thomas. Additionally, he speaks four different languages well.

Little Mount Church’s neighborhood guide is D’Cruz. The popular opinion is that the church is the location of the cave where the apostle took refuge from his assassins. The current narrow entrance to the cave was initially closed, according to the guide. But after the apostle prayed to the Lord Jesus Christ, it did open. D’Cruz then pauses from time to time as he guides someone to the cave to show the locations where St. Thomas put his hand, foot, and knee.

In his speech about the miracles that took place during his lifetime and his coming to Little Mount Church, the guide demonstrates the grace of Lord Jesus Christ in his life. He also thanks Mother Mary. D’Cruz’s faith is evident in his allusions to the holy water of the fountain, which quench the thirst of St. Thomas in his last moments on earth, and the Holy Cross.

D’Cruz is always aware of his responsibilities at Little Mount Church. He not only handles different jobs well, but he also gives them the right priority.

At the most basic level, D’Cruz is doing a great job of continuing Fr. Raj’s work. Aubrey Laulman, another Anglo Indian, also works with the same goal in mind at St. Thomas Mount Church, where he is nearly a guide. He began the work in 2010, following the marriage of his daughters. The unforgettable moment when he was overcome by a mild and compelling urge to advance and begin the task of reviving the nearly forgotten apostle in the area while trembling on the steps that led to St. Thomas Mount. At the location of St. Thomas Mount, he also displays a miracle to visitors in the shape of a cross that the apostle made using just his hands.

According to Laulman, St. Thomas carried out the honorable mission of preaching the gospel and performing miracles in public with the grace of the Lord during his time in India.

People prayed a lot more in those days than they do now with satellite dishes. In the church, his cheerful words reverberated.

Fr. Raj is attempting to bring the importance of the apostle’s contribution to India to the attention of people around the world in ways that are different from those used by D’Cruz and Laulman in their respective churches to make St. Thomas relevant among the tourists. The parish priest observes that, in addition to initiating the renovation work at the site, he converted The Feast of St. Thomas into an 11-day celebration as opposed to the then-prevailing three-day event after taking over Little Mount Church two years ago. Additionally, he is attempting to make the event as well-known as the Feast of Our Lady festival, which is held after Easter.

To see the apostle’s connection to the Indian subcontinent, one should visit Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, as well as the Indian state of Kerala, where the three notable churches of Little Mount Church, St. Thomas Mount Church, and Santhome Basilica are located. Indeed, these three churches serve as exceptional representations of this relationship.