St. Mary’s Cathedral Church Madurai
St. Mary’s Cathedral Church is quite an old church in India and is the main attraction of Madurai.
It is extremely beautiful and is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madurai.
The specialty of this church is that the towers are bell shaped Roman styled ones rising as high as 140 feet. It is visible from a far distance and is a sight to watch. It is located at Balarengapuram, Madurai and was constructed in the year 1840 as directed by Father Joseph Bertrand, next to the Thirumalai nayakar street with a wall bordering the church. But, now the church is surrounded by four big streets.
As the church got popular, devotees, starting coming in big numbers. The space of the church wasn’t sufficient.
Therefore, in the year 1870, Madurai Catholic Mission renovated the church, and the two towers were also erected at that time. Then in the year 1960, the church was made even bigger and new german style was adopted to accommodate more people.
With a marvelous architecture, it is a perfect blend of different European styles of construction.
Initially, the church was dedicated to Vyakula Matha and localities called it as Vyakula Matha Kovil.
It is open on all days of the week from 6AM to 6PM.