Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Tiruchirappalli

Located in the south Indian city of Trichy (or Tiruchirappalli) in Tamil Nadu, Our Lady of Lourdes Church was built in the 1895 in the Gallo-Catholic design. The Catholic church is a replica of our Lady of Lourdes church in France. 

At the entrance to the Our Lady of Lourdes Church

So who exactly was Our Lady of Lourdes?

Well Lourdes is a town in France and is famous for numerous apparitions of Virgin Mary in the year 1858. A peasant girl saw her for the first time in a cave and told her mother about ‘the lady’. After that numerous other people saw and corroborated her story, and later was canonised as a saint by the Roman Catholics. The town became tremendously famous for the numerous healing that took place at that time. 

The legend of Our Lady of Lourdes traveled far and wide and came to India also with it’s colonists. And that’s how the church came up in this city, which was already a very popular Hindu pilgrimage centre, especially Srirangam.

How did I end up at the Basilica?

I had already crossed this magnificent basilica a few times during my short stay at Tiruchirappalli. Since the city has bet impressive fleet of local buses, I never had to use an auto-rickshaw, and Chatram bus-stand became my most visited spot. It's located really close to the bus-stand, and if you intend to walk to the Rockfort temple you will cross the church on your right. Oh, and you will also come across the iconic Michael Ice Cream during this short walk.

Many worshippers not he want to the altar...

And a few worshippers on the chairs...

Anyway, though I neglected it initially, I can now say confidently that this church is a must-see in the city. Conveniently located in a central area, you don't need much time there. I spent just under an hour just gazing at its beauty. It's not just tall dang impressive from outside, the interiors are also beautifully laid out. I missed having a Catholic friend with me, as I really wanted to understand the stories better.

While I gazed at these, I couldn't help bring out a parallel with the wall art in the temples in the town, especially in Srirangam. Such unique styles at both the places, but the stories they told were similar - that of impermanence of man and absolute love and devotion to God. I am hardly religious, but religion fascinates me to no end. It was only later that I realized that I should have visited a mosque as well, I wonder if they are any different there.

I was completely blown away by the ceiling of the church!

Another view of the worshippers

To reach Lourdes Church

Use public transportation and reach Chatram bus-stand, from there you can easily walk. Else many buses pass from there and you can just get off the bus at the church. You can take an auto-rickshaw but they will be far more expensive and negotiations would be tough as they don't use meters.

Best time for a visit

I think any time is a good time as long as the church is open. I visited late in the afternoon and the light read perfect. Check out the details on timings here.