Seriously interesting... 2

St Thomas; The Shrine on the Little Mount

PHOTOS of RELICS; The bleeding cross carved by St. Thomas on large stone, on which he fell and died, presently made the altar....

PHOTOS of RELICS Picture of Mother Mary, traditionally attributed to St. Luke and brought to India by St. Thomas

PHOTOS of RELICS; Piece of a hand Bone of St. Thomas which touched the wound of jesus, it was brought from Edessa and preserved in the Mylapore St.Thomas Museum

St. Thomas Mount, Parangimalai is a small hillock located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Located near the neighbourhood of Guindy and very close to Chennai International Airport, St. A shrine dedicated to "Our Lady of Expectation" (Mother Mary) was built in 1523 on top of the mount. It is believed that the altar of this shrine was built on the spot where St.Thomas' death may have occurred. At the northern foot of the mount, is a gateway of four impressive arches surmounted by a cross bearing the inscribed date 1547. A flight of 160 steps leads up to the summit of the mount. There are fourteen stations of the cross erected on the way to the summit.

In 1547, an excavation unearthed a stone cross with old Sassanid Pahlavi inscriptions on it. The cross, believed by Christians to have been chiselled by Thomas himself, became known as the 'Bleeding Cross' as it purportedly has stains resembling blood stains which reappear even after being scrubbed off. Thomas is supposed to have clutched this cross as he lay dying. When it was discovered, the cross was built into the wall being the altar of the church, which it adorns today; St.Thomas Syro Malabar Catholic Church On either side of the chancel there are framed oil paintings depicting the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Above the altar is an oil painting of The Madonna, which is believed to be one of the seven painted by Luke the Evangelist and brought to India by Thomas. This picture of the Madonna is considered to be the oldest Christian painting in India.

The annual Festival of Our Lady of Expectation is celebrated on 18 December. Saint Thomas day is celebrated on the 3rd of July, in memory of his death; on the 21^st December in the year 72.  My birthday is 21^st December....hmmm...interesting. Ann

Little Mount is a hillock, which is eighty feet above sea level. A cave on the hillock provided him an ideal shelter. The amazing feature of the cave is that one can still see the fingers of St.Thomas clearly imprinted on the rocks of the cave. Little Mount Shrine

There are many literary works that proudly attest to the fact that Santhome offers shelter to St.Thomas the Apostle. He was a favourite of the local king Mahadevan. However, his ministers disliked him. He took refuge in the jungle of Little Mount, which is about four miles away from Santhome.

The Little Mount (locally known as the Chinnamalai —the small mount), is a rocky prominence where Thomas had chosen a tiny cave as his home and led a spartan prayerful life in solitude, often praying on the top of the hill. Today, there is a monument hewn out of rock with its small narrow opening has an altar with the image of St. Thomas known to be a prayer home. To the east of this cave is an opening, supposedly that of a tunnel through which he fled from his alleged assailants to St. Thomas Mount. The Christian believes that the opening (window) was made and through this Thomas may have escaped from his enemies who were waiting in front of the entrance. Near the tunnel's entrance is a clearly visible palm print. This hand-print and the footprint at the foot of the hillock, are supposed to be those of Thomas himself.

Little Mount has an ancient church built by the Portuguese in 1551. At the entrance is a portrait of Thomas and Portuguese inscription, while a masonry cross at the top of the hill.

There is also a miraculous spring called St.Thomas fountain. This was an answer of the Apostle to the thirsty people who used to come and listen to him. The water from this spring offers healing to all who drink it trusting in the powerful intercession of St.Thomas.