St.Thomas, referred to as Didymus, in the Gospel of St.John is one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ. He is one of the prime witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. St.Thomas arrived in India in the year 52 AD and spent seven years in Mailepuram, or the present Mylapore in Madras.
Legends say that a huge log of wood was washed ashore near what is now called Santhome, which could not be moved even by elephants. St.Thomas used his girdle and pulled it out. The king of Mylapore was impressed and donated the huge log of wood to St.Thomas, who built a small chapel with it. It was at St.Thomas Mount that he was pierced with a spear while praying in front of the cross. After his death, his body was buried in the Church built by him. A pot containing earth, probably moistured by his blood and the lance with which he was pierced were both buried in his tomb.
In the 10th century AD Christians from Persia, founded this Christian village of Santhome, and then they built a Church and tomb over the burial site of St.Thomas. The Portuguese who came to India in 1523 AD found a small shrine called "Ben Thuma", that is, the house of Thomas, in the custody of a Muslim. The Portuguese then built a Church and erected the Diocese of Santhome-de-mellapore. Dom Sebasteao-de-Pedro of the Augustinian Order was the first bishop of the Diocese of Mylapore. Later a fort was built to protect the Portuguese settlement of Santhome. Over the years it was destroyed by the constant attack of the Dutch and Golcondas. During the time of the Portuguese there were five Roman Catholic Churches, including what is the Shrine today.
St.Thomas is renowned for working numerous miracles. His tomb was opened four times in the history of the Shrine. It was opened for the first time to cure an ailment of the son of the Raja Mahadevan. It was opened for the second time between 1222 and 1235 when most of the Saint's relics were removed to Ortona in 1258 for a troubled journey on the East Coast of India. His relics are present in Ortona even today. It was opened for the third time in 1523 by the Portuguese who arrived at Mylapore to rebuild the ruined Church over the tomb of the Apostle, St.Thomas. Dom Jose Pinharno, the bishop of Mylapore, opened it for the fourth time in 1729 to give pilgrims the earth from the sepulcher. It was at this time a bright light appeared from the tomb.
Pope Pius XII raised the Cathedral Church of the Archdiocese of Chennai -Mylapore to the dignity and rank of Minor Basilica by Apostolic brief dated 16th March 1956.
Pope John Paul II visited and prayed at this Holy place on February 5th, 1986. This was the first time that a Pope had visited Chennai. Excerpts from his address “It is an honour and special grace for me to come to the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Thomas, the Apostle here in Madras. As so many pilgrims before me have done, I too come to venerate the Tomb of the Apostle to India. With joy in our hearts, let us praise God who, through Saint Thomas, has communicated the Good News of salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
The church is a towering basilica built in Gothic Style. Besides, the beauty of its rising spire it has a brilliant stained glass depiction of St. Thomas' encounter with the resurrected Christ. Some relics and a fragment of bone of the saint are found in the crypt below the altar.
A valuable work of art kept in the Basilica is an ancient painting of Our Blessed Mother, in front of which the other great apostle of India, St. Francis Xavier, used to pray.
There are two new structures today - The Tomb Chapel below the Basilica and Museum cum Theatre. The new underground chapel with a separate access outside the church structure, allows pilgrims to pray at the tomb and tourists to visit it, without disturbing the sacred functions in the church. The museum exhibits artifacts connected with St. Thomas and the Basilica, and the theatre is used for screening a short video on the life of the Apostle.
The tomb of St.Thomas is the very nucleus of the present day Shrine. This makes the soil in which he was martyred sacred and exclusive.