Church of Our Lady of Glory – Pulicat

Address:

Church of Our Lady of Glory
Pulicat
Ponneri Tk,
Thiruvallur Dt – 601 205.
Tel: 044 – 27 97 64 60

Brief History:

This Church of Our Lady of Glory was established in 1515 at Pulicat, a fishing village, separated by a lake which connects the Bay of Bengal. One early morning the fishermen went for fishing. They caught no fish but a log of wood. In despair, they threw this log on the shore. A wood cutter cut this log to be used as fuel but blood splashed on his eyes and made him blind. His wife applied the blood on his eyes and the wood cutter regained his sight. On the other side of the log there was a woman’s figure engraved. They built a thatched shed and started worshipping this log. After some years, Portuguese merchants visited Pulicat trading centre. They built a new chapel in 1515, enshrined the statue and named it ‘Our Lady of Joy’ because it was the same statue that they had lost in a storm. Archbishop Most Rev Dr Casimir Gnanadickam SJ laid the foundation stone for the new Church.

About the Church

The History of Pulicat revolves around the early role of Pulicat as a seaport in one of the few natural harbours on the Coromandel Coast of South India. Pulicat is in Tamil Nadu at the mouth of Pulicat lake.

Worth a visit to AARDE Pulicat Museum located in Kottai Kuppam road at Pazhaverkadu will give the detailed account on the history of Pulicat.