Glorious 175 years and now a Basilica

The moment one enters into the St. Mary’s Church, Secunderabad, which is now bestowed a minor Basilica status, one is transported back in time. Right from the window panes and the age-old pews on which devotees sit and pray, there is a sense of history.

Ronald James Deshmukh who was born in Pune, but has made Hyderabad his home for the last 11 years traced the history of the church and penned a book ‘Endearing Journey’, which is to be released on Sunday, on the occasion of the Church’s completion of 175 years. He says, “The Irish heritage is embedded in this Church and Irishness echoes in motifs, designs and different elements inside the church.”

A fine example of the influence can be seen in the corbel heads (a projection usually of stone that acts as a base for an arch or roof timber). The window panes curved arches and pointed buttresses at the church are representative of the catholic churches in European countries.

Work on the book started in November, 2014 and correspondence with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions in Latin (PIME), an organisation in Italy that establishes churches, revealed interesting facts as they still had material on the church.

An interesting finding is the Statue of Our Lady made of a single piece of pine wood that adorns the main hall looks as if it were made with lime plaster. Ronald says that during the time of Nizam’s rule there were few sculptors who could work on pine wood, which was not available in the Deccan region.

There is all possibility that it could have been made by an Irish sculptor John Hogan who specialised in pine wood sculpting. Rev. Daniel Murphy, the first Vicar Apolistic of Hyderabad who was born in Cork, Ireland had started building the church in 1840 and dedicated it as a Cathedral of St. Mary’s in 1850. Ronald says, “Gothic architecture was predominant in European countries and missionaries used the style by infusing local motifs.”

Museum with rare artefacts

A museum with rare artefacts and pictures of the church with details on landmarks and achievements will open on the second floor of the new building inside the church premises. A monstrance (a vessel usually of gold and silver in which the consecrated Host is exposed for adoration) that dates back to over 100 years will also be on display. A wooden ciborium (a vessel to hold which will be used for communion) which is over a 100 years old could have been imported from Ireland or Italy will also be showcased.

By TP Venu