Santhome Basilica

The drive alongside the wide beach was long. By the road, vendors had set up stands for the patronage of the beachgoers. After passing Fort St. George and the University of Madras, we came to Santhome Basilica, where the bones of Saint Thomas lie.

Thomas, an apostle mentioned a blazing four times in the gospels, came to India to preach after the resurrection, and died here in Madras. The whitewashed cathedral is stark and beautiful against the blue sky, but it seems strange. Its proportions, its angles are different. The ambitious, steep pitch of the spires conflicts with the squat, arched towers underneath them. Inside the church, windows, with the exception on the one behind the main altar, are a simple stained glass of colored shapes. Wooden statues illustrating the gospels sprout off the walls on metal stalks by each window.

A larger statue of Jesus of the cross stands in front of the altar. His cross rises out of a lotus flower flanked by two blue peacocks. When you get closer to the statue you can see that worshippers have written their names on his feet and on the hem of his robes in blue ink.

The passageway leading to the recently renovated tomb of the saint was austere. Marble tunnels without carvings or moldings lead to a simple chamber with pews facing the tomb. Atop the earth where St. Thomas’ bones lie is an almost cartoonish statue of the saint. Although the plastic statue is encased in glass, its paint is still scraped and chipped. The simplicity of the tomb and its signs of wear are its most striking features. Catholic churches in the US and Europe tend to have a bit more flair. And although it seems almost un-Catholic to see such a simple place of worship, I suppose that this simplicity is consistent with Jesus’ style.