Church with a rich past
Much like the ten-day Dasara festivities, St. Mary's Feast is also observed for ten days at the famous St. Mary's Church, the oldest church inBangalore.
September 8 is celebrated as a grand feast (between August 30 and September 8) to mark Mother Mary's birthday.
This annual feast of St. Mary's Church draws quite a large congregation of devotees from all over. Located in the bustling Shivajinagar area of the historic Cantonment in Bangalore, St Mary's Church was established during the British rule.
The church dates back to early 19th century when a small chapel founded in 1811 was rebuilt in 1818 to make it a full-fledged spacious church dedicated to Mother Mary. Sixty years later, in 1882, the present church was constructed and it came to be consecrated on September 8, 1882 by the then Bishop of Mysore by Rev. Fr. Kleiner.
The 125th year of its consecration was celebrated in 2007. Elevated as a basilica in 1973 by Pope John Paul VI, St. Mary's Church is a Gothic-style structure with an eye-catching tower (160-ft high), tall spires and stained glass windows. Situated next to the basilica is a popular shrine with a six-feet-tall beautifully sculpted statue of Mother Mary with Jesus in her arms. There is also one more holy shrine at the entrance housing a similar but smaller statue worshipped by devotees as the 'Miraculous statue of Mother Mary'.
S V Upendra Charya
Much like the ten-day Dasara festivities, St. Mary's Feast is also observed for ten days at the famous St. Mary's Church, the oldest church inBangalore.
September 8 is celebrated as a grand feast (between August 30 and September 8) to mark Mother Mary's birthday.
This annual feast of St. Mary's Church draws quite a large congregation of devotees from all over. Located in the bustling Shivajinagar area of the historic Cantonment in Bangalore, St Mary's Church was established during the British rule.
The church dates back to early 19th century when a small chapel founded in 1811 was rebuilt in 1818 to make it a full-fledged spacious church dedicated to Mother Mary. Sixty years later, in 1882, the present church was constructed and it came to be consecrated on September 8, 1882 by the then Bishop of Mysore by Rev. Fr. Kleiner.
The 125th year of its consecration was celebrated in 2007. Elevated as a basilica in 1973 by Pope John Paul VI, St. Mary's Church is a Gothic-style structure with an eye-catching tower (160-ft high), tall spires and stained glass windows. Situated next to the basilica is a popular shrine with a six-feet-tall beautifully sculpted statue of Mother Mary with Jesus in her arms. There is also one more holy shrine at the entrance housing a similar but smaller statue worshipped by devotees as the 'Miraculous statue of Mother Mary'.
S V Upendra Charya