miscellany - The second oldest church of Bengaluru

Tucked away in the noisy bylanes of India’s Silicon Valley, St Patrick’s Church on Museum Road evokes memories of the past. This church, built in Gothic style with two glittering steeples at the entrance, equally rich interiors with fluted pilasters and carefully crafted floral motifs, is nothing short of an architectural and historical marvel.

Buoyed by its rich history, this church is stepping on to 175th year of its existence — a feat that has made it the second oldest church in Bengaluru. To mark this big year, the Bangalore Diocese has planned a series of programmes, beginning from October 7, 2016. 

Fr Jacques-Henry Gailhot, a Roman Catholic Chaplain for the British troops, played an important role in building this church. With the expansion of cantonment and increase in Catholic population, a need was felt for establishing a new church in the ‘white’ part of the town. The land was initially used as a parking ground for elephants and camels, presumably of the Army. The land which was at the heart of the European portion of the Cantonment, was granted for building the church on May 31, 1841.

An article from the Catholic Expositor of Madras of the time quotes Fr Jacques-Henry describing the church as, “The building that will not change and will not disappear in one or two generations, but which is destined to remain till the end of time.”

However, this catholic Frenchman had to overcome considerable bigotry, prejudice and opposition from Protestant officers in the cantonment hierarchy in his quest to build a new church.

The British were reportedly more inclined towards funding Protestant churches and were not forthcoming in giving funds for the new Catholic church. Hence, money had to be raised from other sources. The Catholic soldiers, who were mainly Irish, constituted around 700 individuals. Of these, only about 200 initially agreed to contribute to the construction of the church, perhaps out of the fear of displeasing their Protestant officers, different books of Bangalore Archdiocese point out. 

With Rs 4,000 in hand, the foundation stone of the church was laid on July 22, 1841, in the presence of a large crowd of soldiers and the faithful. The work was completed by the end of 1844. “While the church was originally dedicated to the honour of Blessed Trinity and named after Blessed Virgin Mary and St Michael the Archangel, the Irish soldiers named it as St Patrick’s after the patron saint of Ireland. Earlier, it was known as the Church of Our Land of the Assumption,” Archbishop Bernard Moras said, quoting one of the old records.

As a result, the Church building was conspicuous more by its strength and its great proportions rather than by its stylishness and beauty of its form. Incidentally, it did not have the high roof, the steeples and Gothic architecture that were only added half a century later. A belfry was added to the rear of the High Altar in 1845. Barely a year after the church was completed, Fr Jacques-Henry moved to France. His batchmate, Fr Joseph August Chevalier, who also played a major role in building the church, continued as military chaplain for the next 25 years.

During the renovation in 1890, the Church acquired its distinguishing Gothic style. With its beautiful steeples and a high roof, it was almost double the height of the old. The interiors are not less splendid. The church is said to have many similarities with the St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York.

The church was further renovated in 2000. It can now comfortably accommodate 550 people. The strength of the parish is around 3,500 but its central location makes it attractive to the faithful. It was further renovated in 2012 by Fr Sagayanathan, with the assistance of artisans from Tamil Nadu. For the first time, the entire outward structure was re-plastered and the resplendent Gothic beauty of this glorious church was meticulously restored. The entire premise was beautified with interlocking cement blocks.

The church continues to attract tourists from all over the world. “Recently, about 30 foreigners had come to the church, as part of ‘Discover their ancestors’ tour. Many of them could even trace the names of their grandfathers on the church plaques,” C Francis, parish priest of St Patrick’s Church said.