Church of Our Lady of Light, Chennai

Church of Our Lady of Light is a Roman Catholic shrine in Chennai, India. It is commonly called as Luz Church by the locals, which derives from the Portuguese name Nossa Senhora da Luz. Built in 1516 by the Portuguese, it is one of the oldest Churches in the city and its foundation stone marks as one of the oldest European monuments in India. The history of the church dates back to the 16th-century legend of safe arrival to land by missionaries. The church is located very near to the Santhome Basilica, where Apostle Thomas is believed to be buried.Although at the time the church was built, the locality was a thick forest, now it is part of a bustling metropolitan area. This 16th-century European-architecture building consists of patterns of Gothic arches and Baroque ornamentation. The feast of Our Lady of Light is celebrated on the 15 August every year. On 15 August, 2010, Church of Our Lady of Light was declared Shrine of Our Lady of Light by A. M. Chinnappa, Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore.HistoryBackgroundThe historical background of this church is intertwined with the traditional history of Christianity in India. Arrival of Christianity to India is of two phases, where by traditional accounts, St. Thomas brought the religion in the first century and attained martyrdom in Chennai in 53 AD. The second phase is after the arrival of Portuguese in the 15th century. The legends of the Church of Our Lady of Light connects both.