There are three places in Chennai that stand out as monuments of  honour, speaking aloud about the presence, activity and the martyrdom of St Thomas, the Apostle of  India. They are 1) Little Mount, 2) St Thomas Mount, 3) San Thome Cathedral Basilica.

     St Thomas built a church at San Thome.  After his martyrdom, his body was buried in the Church built by him.  A pot containing earth, moistened  by his blood and the lance with which he was pierced were both buried in his tomb.The foundation for a new Church was laid on 2nd  July 1523. The Church was rebuilt and erected as a Parish. Father Penteado from Portugal was the first Parish Priest.  In 1893 His Excellency, Dom  Henry Joseph Reed Da Silva, Bishop of Mylapore demolished the old Cathedral and laid the foundation for the new Basilica, to commemorate the Golden Jubilee Day of the Episcopal Consecration of His Holiness Pope Leo XIII. In this church the  second  tower, a smaller one, points to the exact place where the Apostle was buried. The new Basilica was constructed and consecrated on 1st April 1896 AD. The tip of the cross on the spire is 155 feet from the ground level. In this Church, the statue of our Lady of Mylapore is enthroned, before which St Francis Xavier prayed intensely for several days while he stayed in Mylapore.

     The Bishop of Dacca consecrated a new bell on 9th May 1896, His Excellency, Dom A S Valente, Patriarch of the East Indies consecrated the main altar of the Cathedral. The Bishop of Mylapore consecrated the altar of Saints Peter and Paul on 29th June 1896  AD.  A  sun-dial from the old Cathedral is placed on the rear side of the Sacristy. This Cathedral Basilica is a matter of pride to the nation and to all of us, because it is built over the tomb of St Thomas. There are three Basilicas, all over the world, that are built over the tomb of the apostles. The first one is St  Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the second one on the tomb of
St James, and the third one is the tomb chapel of St Thomas in San Thome Cathedral Basilica in Chennai. The Cathedral Basilica was restored and consecrated on 12th December 2004 by the Apostolic Nuncio His Excellency  Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana and Cardinal Ivan Dias of Mumbai. On 8th September 2005 the present  Archbishop of Madaras-Mylapore His Grace, Most Rev Dr  A M Chinnappa  SDB DD Ph D issued a decree officially elevating this Cathedral Parish as a Shrine of  the Archdiocese.