Our Lady of Dolours church (Puthanpally)

Our Lady of Dolours Syro-Malabar Catholic Basilica is locally known as Puthanpally or new church. It is located in the heart of Thrissur city, in the state of Kerala, in Southern India. It is a denomination related to Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. It was founded in 1929 as a status of a Minor Basilica. Its architect is Ambrose Gounder. The architectural style and pattern is Indo-Gothic with three spires of height 259 ft and 79 metres. It belongs to the Archdiocese of Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Thrissur. In Asia, it is third tallest church. It is spread in an area of 2,300 m2 or 25,000 square feet. At the entrance, it has soaring belfries with double storeyed aisles all along the transepts and nave, eleven altars that is five on either side of the primary one. In India, it is the largest church plus its exuberant interior decorations comprise fine specimens of murals, scenes from the scriptures and images of saints.

History of Puthanpally (Basilica of Our Lady of Dolours)

In 1814, original church building and the parish were established. It is Thrissur’s initial Christian church inside the fort gates. It was a religious center for Mar Thoma Nazrani or St. Thomas Christians in the region for decades. The Chaldean Catholic bishop Elias Mellus arrived in 1874 in India on the wholehearted request of the Syro-Malabar Christians. This particular event convinced largely a good part of the Christian community to immediately accept him as their beloved bishop. The religious group that strictly followed Mellus was perfectly based at Our Lady of Dolours, plus separated eventually from the Catholic hierarchy, rightly forming what is at present called as the Chaldean Syrian Church. In the immediate response the Syro-Malabar Catholics grandly constructed a new and modern building in the year 1929. On the other hand, the original church was perfectly renamed as the Mart Mariam Big Church, and is at present the cathedral of the Chaldean Syrian Church. It is to be noted that in India from the beginning from the year 1929, the construction of this particular biggest church was completed in different phases. The central tower measures height of 79 m or 260 feet and the two front towers exactly are of 45 m or 146 feet in height. The completion in a successful manner of the towers was a challenge of architectural nature. As per records, a certain experts from Tamil Nadu region were brought over to complete this church. The architect named Ambrose Gounder who was behind the building of this church become popular after this particular project.

How to reach Our Lady of Dolours church

By Road: There is good connectivity of bus services to Puthanpally from the bus station of Thrissur and Ernakulam. It is just 45 km from the heart of Thrissur town.

By Rail: There is no nearby railway station at Puthanpally. The major railway station is located at Thrissur that is just 42 km from Puthanpally.

By Air: The nearest airhead is situated at Kochi international airport. The next airport is located at Thriuvanthapuram.