The Portuguese between the 14th and the 15 century AD built The Santhome cathedral. Deriving its name after St. Thomas, this continues to be an important place of pilgrimage for the Christian community in the country and is also historically important. This Roman Catholic church is said to house the remains of St. Thomas the Apostle. It is close to the seaport. A towering neo gothic spire dominates the 55 metres high San Thome Cathedral. This church is located on the southern end of Marina Beach. It has in its possession a small hand bone of Thomas and the head of a lance, which brought him down. Renovated in the early 1970s, this Basilica draws huge crowds. Besides the beauty of its rising spire, this Gothic styled church has a brilliant stained glass depiction of St. Thomas' encounter with the resurrected Christ. In the cathedral is a 3ft. high statue of Virgin Mary, which is believed to have been brought from Portugal in 1543.
Close to the seashore, the impressive Basilica is built over the tomb of St.Thomas which contains in it's crypt a small hand bone of the Apostle and the head of a lance which is said to have been used in the attack on him.
Between the 14th and 15th centuries,the beach church fell to ruins and in 1522 the Portugese moved the Apostle's remains to a new tomb, and built a new church which was given the status of a cathedral in 1606. In 1893 however, this church was also demolished and the present Gothic style cathedral was built and consecrated in 1896. in 1956, this cathedral was elevated to the status of a Basilica as a fitting tribute to the martyred St. Thomas.
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