BENGALURU: A stable for horses and camels of the British troops was brought down for the construction of St Patrick’s Church on Brigade Road. With the increasing Catholic population in the early 19th Century, there was a need for a prayer hall and the church was constructed in 1844. British Commissioner Mark Cubbon, with permission from the Mysore Wadiyar Maharaja, granted a triangular piece of land in the heart of the city for this on May 31, 1841. The foundation stone was laid in July 1841 in the presence of British Commander Brigadier E Lovell, Fr Jacques-Henry Gailhot and Fr Chavalier. Rev Monsignor C Francis, Parish Priest of St Patrick’s Church says, “This is one of the oldest churches belonging to the Archdiocese of Bangalore.
It was constructed because of the efforts of Fr Jacques Henry Gailhot, the then Roman Catholic Chaplain for the British troops. He was the first Parish Priest of the church. The church was dedicated to the honour of the blessed Trinity and was dedicated as the Church of Assumption. But even before the construction was completed, it came to be known as St Patrick’s Church, due to its popularity with Irish troops. They named it after the patron saint of Ireland.” The Catholic soldiers were mainly Irish. According to history and background of St Patrick’s Institutions written by Rev Fr Sagayanathan and Fr Adrian Mascarenhas, the church which had no steeples as yet, was part of the Mysore diocese, and Bishop Charbonnaux of Mysore made it his cathedral (seat of Bishop) in 1845, after he decided to stay next to the church. Independent historian and researcher Arun Prasad says, “The total construction cost was `9,000 that included a grant of `4,000 and some private funds. The Irish soldiers also contributed a good amount of money for the construction of the church.” It is said that the British were more inclined towards funding for Protestant churches. Hence, money had to be raised from other sources. There were about 700 Catholic Irish soldiers, out of which only 200 agreed to contribute. The others probably refused fearing backlash from their Protestant officers.
Why the church was established here
In the 1800s, British started shifting their capital from Mysore to Bangalore. In 1809, Cantonment was established and the troops began setting in the township of Bengaluru. The Christian missionaries also started activities in the city. There was a good number of catholic people in Bengaluru. Due to increased population, a need was felt to establish a new church in this part of the city. Regular parades and marches were held in the cantonment area, especially on Brigade Road, Shooley Circle, Infantry Road and Cubbon Road. The soldiers on horseback would end their parades at Shooley Circle and hence, it became a meetup place for them. After the parade and meet, they would disperse from Brigade Road. Arun says, “There must have been a prayer hall or a small chapel in the Cantonment area where the Catholics met and prayed, before the St Patrick’s Church was constructed. But, nothing is known about this small chapel.”
Remodelling of the church
The congregation was growing and the church was renovated to accommodate it in the 1890s. Historian Arun says, “Fr Tabard was appointed for the remodelling of the church. He came up with a new design for a new cathedral. The remodelling began in 1894. Lot of alternations and additions inlcuding a pair of steeples, were made. It was designed in the Gothic style of architecture. The construction of the new cathedral was completed and consecrated by the Bishop of Mysore in 1899.” Records say that the church was consecrated as the cathedral of the Mysore Diocese on November 12, 1899, by Bishop Kleiner. The 3rd Eucharistic Congress in India was held here and the Bishops were consecrated on October 28, 1922.
Territorial Parish
In 1940, Bengaluru was declared a separate diocese and St Francis Xavier’s became its cathedral church. According to a journal, Bishop Despartures of Mysore asked the Pope for permission to make St Patrick’s a canonical parish (where entire communities congregate for prayer) opening it also to the Indians including Goans, Konkanis and Parsis who were staying in the parishes of St Mary’s and Sacred Heart churches.
Further renovations
The century-old structure was renovated in 2000 to accomodate about 550 people. It was further renovated in 2012 by Fr Sagayanathan, with the assistance of artisans from Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu. For the first time, the entire outward structure was replastered to restore the Gothic style of architecture. One recent addition include Adoration Chapel for silent prayer and meditation. “The addition was made by Rev Fr S Jayanathan and it soon became popular among the faithful,” says Fr Francis.
St Anthony’s Shrine
On the right of the main church, there is a shrine dedicated to St Anthony. It was earlier a club house and a meeting place called St Anthony’s Hall, which was inaugurated in 1926. In the 1950s,it was turned into a shrine. It has recently undergone renovation and a new statue of St Anthony was installed by Fr Sagayanathan. The church celebrated 175th anniversary in October last year and brought out a coffee table book that traces the history of the church.St Patrick’s Church is the second oldest church in the city after St Mary’s Cathedral