St Philomena’s Church

One of the first eye-catching buildings in Mysore is St Philomena’s Church. It’s a dark grey structure, a Gothic style church that has twin spires that reach 165 ft into the sky and claims to be the largest church in Southern India. It was built between 1933 and 1941, on the request of the then Bishop of Mysore, Reverend Rene Fuega. The French architects were supposedly influenced by St. Patricks Cathedral in New York and Cologne’s famous cathedral. Inside, the multi-coloured stained glass windows alter the colour of light as it filters into the church and give is a surreal feel. They depict key scenes from the life of Jesus. Biblical images are depicted on the walls of the church and pilgrims come from afar to worship near the relics of St. Philomena. With its entrance directly in front of the altar, the crypt houses a statue of the sleeping St. Philomena. A relic said to be a piece of bone from the third century saint is preserved in the centre of the shield.