Basilica of the Holy Rosary, Bandel
Bandel Church | |
---|---|
The Basilica of the Holy-Rosary, Minor basilica | |
Founded | 1599 |
Administration | |
Archdiocese | Calcutta |
Deanery | Hoogly |
Clergy | |
Archbishop | Thomas D'Souza |
The Basilica of the Holy Rosary (commonly known as Bandel Church) is one of the oldest
History
…the Portuguese church, which is now the great sight of modern Bandel. This, the oldest Christian place of worship in Bengal, India, was founded in 1599, the year in which
East India Company. It was burnt in the sack of Hooghly by the Moors in 1632, but the keystone with the date 1599 was preserved and built into the gate of the new church erected by John Comes de Soto in 1661. It is dedicated to Nossa Senhora di Rosario and contains a monastery once occupied by Augustinian friars, the last of whom died in 1869… Some 380 bigghahs of land, out of the 777 granted rent-free by Shah Jehan, are still enjoyed… Every November the church is thronged with pilgrims during the Novena of Notre Dame de Bon Voyage.[2]
Around the middle of the 16th century, the Portuguese began using Bandel as a
In 1579, the Portuguese built a port on the banks of the
This first church was burnt down during the sacking of Hooghly by the Moors in 1632. A newer church, constructed by Gomez de Soto (also spelt John Comes de Soto), was built over the ruin in 1660. The keystone of the older church can still be seen on the eastern gate of the monastery, bearing the date 1599.[4][5]
On November 25, 1988, Pope
Layout
A ship's mast stands in front of the church; it was presented to the church by the captain of a vessel that had encountered a storm in the Bay of Bengal, whose rescue was attributed to Mary's intercession. The church has three altars, several tombstones, a pipe organ, and a shrine to Mary.
References
- ^ "Calcutta Archdiocese : HOWRAH & HOOGLY DEANERY". The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
- ^ Cotton, H.E.A., Calcutta Old and New, 1909/1980, pp. 820–821, General Printers and Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
- ^ Datta, Rangan (9 January 2011). "Next Weekend You Can Be At Bandel". The Telegraph Kolkata. Archived from the original on January 16, 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4620-4022-3.
- ^ "Bandel Church: Description". Hooghly district official website. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
- ^ "Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary, Bandel". Retrieved 2014-08-26.
External links
- Media related to Bandel Church at Wikimedia Commons
- Official site
- Hooghly District Official Website
- Bandel Church - India Temples Portal
- Bandel Church - Hooghly