CHENNAI: Colonial and heritage buildings have been always been in the limelight especially while talking about the history of Madras. But much before the entry of the British East India Company, a group of Portuguese travellers set foot here and built what’s now considered one of the oldest churches in South India — the Church of our Lady of Light, also known as Luz Church. Yes, the area was named after this church in the corner of a narrow, quaint street in Mylapore.
Naming the area ‘Luz’ certainly shows the importance of the church, which derives its name from a Portugese name, Nossa Senhora da Luz. On its quincentennial celebrations (500 years), City Express takes a walk through the 16th Century building and talks to Fr Peter Thumma about its history, architecture and more.
After Vasco da Gama’s discovery of the sea route to India, the Franciscan monks, who were the original followers of St Francis of Assisi, brought the Gospel to India. Eight Franciscan missionaries started on a journey from Lisbon on March 9, 1500 and landed in Calicut. “According to documents and archives, among the eight missionaries, three of them were slain in Calicut on November 16, 1500. The rest arrived in Cochin and wanted to bring the good news to the south,” narrates Thumma.
But the sea was harsh and the missionaries were alarmed by the lack of visibility of the coast. They appealed to Mother Mary. The same night, they were led to this very spot (where the Luz Church stands now) by a light. “The light vanished after safely leading them here,” he says pointing to the shrine also called as Kaatu Koil (forest temple). In a gesture of giving thanks to the force that led them here, a modest shrine was built and thus marked the beginning of the 500-year-old history of Nossa Senhora De Luz.
Situated amid bustling neighbourhoods, the church sees hundreds of visitors every day. “Not only Christians, but people from different religions and countries visit the church,” adds Thumma.
Talking about the historical documentation of the building, he states, “Today we don’t have big records as such. It’s more of information that was passed from person to person.” He has appointed a group look through the records to find more history wherever available — through archives, the government and the public.
The heritage shrine has a magnificent entrance with gothic patterns, arches and baroque ornamentation that embellished the interior of the church built in the ancient European style. Towards the main shrine, the floor is covered with calligraphed and engraved tombstones (though most are not visible now). “They are in memory of children and young wives who died during childbirth. It also gives an idea of who the parishioners were,” he says.
It’s a T-shape church, Thumma tells us. “The main arm of the T and the altar centering it was the oldest part of the church. The sides must have been added later. The altar is the most beautiful part of the shrine and we have so many languages inside the shrine – Portuguese, Hebrew, English, Tamil, Latin…what not,” he explains.
The unique backdrop behind the altar is carved in single piece of wood. The statue of Our Lady of Light is centered above the altar, and has embellished motifs of figurines, stucco work and walls gilded with earthen shades of yellow, ochre, silver and gold leaves. “The thick lime and mortar walls somehow make the place cool. Even during the hottest days, the main altar remains cool and pleasant,” Thumma adds.
The church celebrated its 500th year by inviting spiritual leaders and bishops from different parts of the country. “We had cultural programmes, provided food and clothes to the poor and the disabled. We also invited the Franciscan delegation (the order found by Francis of Assisi) from Italy…they built this shrine centuries ago,” he smiles.