Our Lady of Rosary of Mangalore

Church of Our Lady of Rosary of Mangalore (Portuguese: Igreja Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Mangalore), or Rosario Cathedral at Bolar is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Mangalore, dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. It was the first Roman Catholic church in the Canara region.^[1] Historically, this was the only parish church in Mangalore reserved for the high-caste Mangalorean Catholics.^[2]

History

The church of Our Lady of Rosary of Mangalore was originally the church of the old Portuguese factory.^[1] It was built by the Portuguese in 1568.^[3] Oral tradition states that the image of the Virgin Mary at the high altar was found by the fishermen at sea; when it got caught in their net.^[1] It was later brought to the church and installed there.^[1] The church was the main centre of devotion for the Bamonn caste who revered the image of Our Lady of the Rosary on the high-altar.^[1] It was mentioned by the Italian traveller Pietro Della Valle, when he visited Mangalore in 1623.^[3]

The church was desecrated and destroyed by Mysorean ruler Tipu Sultan in 1784.^[4] Reconstruction of the church later began in 1813.^[3] In 1910, the structure of the old cathedral was demolished and the present cathedral erected in its place.^[3] The church of Our Lady of Rosary is the only church in the Mangalore Diocese which has a dome crowning the spacious sanctuary.^[3] The cross on the cathedral's dome was traditionally lit every night to serve as a beacon for seafarers.^[3] The Roys stone emblem of the Portuguese King marking their landing at Mangalore lies at the entrance of the church.^[3]

Citations

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Silva & Fuchs 1965, p. 8
2. ^ Silva & Fuchs 1965, p. 7
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Kamila 2004
4. ^ D'Souza 1983, N. 11, p. 40

References

• D'Souza, A. L. P. (1983), History of the Catholic Community of South Kanara, Desco Publishers .
• Kamila, Raviprasad (27 November 2004), The holy heritage, The Hindu, http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/11/27/stories/2004112702480100.htm, retrieved 2011-05-20 
• Silva, Severine; Fuchs, Stephan (1965). "The Marriage Customs of the Christians in South Canara, India" (PDF, 2.48 MB). Asian ethnology. 2 (Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture, Nanzan University (Japan)) 24: 1–52. http://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/publications/afs/pdf/a173.pdf. Retrieved 2011-05-20.