St. Thomas Mount at Chennai

St. Thomas Mount is a small hillock situated in Chennai, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The mount is commonly called in Tamil language ‘Parangi Malai’.

St. Thomas Mount is associated with St. Thomas (the apostle of Christ), who is believed to have been martyred here. Legend says that St. Thomas was one of the first Christians to reach India and to preach Christianity.

In the mount one can see a shrine dedicated to Mother Mary and was built in 1523. It is believed that the altar of this mount shrine was built on the spot where St. Thomas was martyred in A D 72.