Santhome

Santhome is a locality in Mylapore in Chennai city (old Madras) in India.

History

The word Santhome or San Thome is derived from Saint Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. As per tradition, the apostle landed in Muziris (in Kerala) in A.D. 52, was martyred in A.D.72 at St.Thomas Mount in the city, and was interred in Mylapore. A church was built over his supposed tomb and today is known as the San Thome Basilica. The Basilica is one of the four churches that claim to have been built over the tomb of an apostle. (Others include St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy; the Church of Saint James the Great in Santiago de Compostela, Spain; and the Ghareh Keliseh Monastery of St. Thaddeus in Ghara-Kilise, Iran.)

Commonly known as Santhome Church, the International Shrine of St. Thomas Basilica has an underground tomb chapel where pilgrims can pray in front of the sepulchre of St. Thomas. Superstitious people believe that sand taken from the tomb has miraculous healing powers. Marco Polo the great Venetian traveller visited the tomb in 1292 and made a record of his visit in his travel diaries: