This is the complete list of all the Basilicas in India. With 36 Indian churches officially designated a basilica by the Holy See of the Catholic Church, India is the country with the most basilicas in Asia. The Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa is the first church in India to be named a basilica, decreed by Pope Pius XII in 1946. Every pope since then has elevated at least one Indian church to the status of a basilica, except Pope John Paul I, owing to his brief leadership.
The Basilica is a title given to certain Catholic churches. By canon law of the church, no church can be honoured with the title unless by an apostolic grant or from immemorial custom.[1] The title is bestowed upon churches that are considered culturally significant, functioning as an important place of pilgrimage or for a specific devotion, such as to a saint or a Marian apparition. Basilicas in this canonical sense are divided into major ("greater") and minor basilicas. Today, only four churches, all in Rome, are classified as major basilicas: St. John Lateran, St. Peter, St, Paul outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major. The other canonical basilicas, including all the 35 basilicas in India, are minor basilicas.
A vast majority of India's basilicas are located in South India. Twenty-nine basilicas belong to the Latin Church, five to the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, and one to the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. Amongst the states of India, Kerala hosts the highest number of basilicas at 12, containing all of the six non-Latin basilicas, while Tamil Nadu ranks second with 11 basilicas, followed by Karnataka with four and the union territory of Pondicherry with two. All the remaining basilicas are the only ones in their respective states or union territories. Amongst the districts of India, Kerala's Ernakulam district has the most basilicas (6); Tamil Nadu's Chennai district ranks second with three basilicas, where as Kerala's Alappuzha district and Tamil Nadu's Thoothukudi district rank third with two basilicas each. The Roman Catholic Archdioceses of Verapoly and Madras–Mylapore, and the Syro Malabar Catholic Major Archeparchy of Ernakulam–Angamaly are the only catholic jurisdictions of India to host multiple basilicas (2 each).
Twenty-four of the basilicas are dedicated to Saint Mary. Four basilicas are dedicated to the Marian title Our Lady of Good Health,[2] followed by Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Snows, Our Lady of the Rosary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Our Lady of Graces and Assumption of Mary, all of which have two basilicas each. Our Lady of Dolours, Our Lady of Ransom, Our Lady of Peace, Our Lady of Perpetual Help and Divine Motherhood have one basilica each. Saint Thomas the Apostle is the patron of two basilicas, both in Chennai—one being the place of his martyrdom and the other his burial. Saints Joseph, Andrew the Apostle, Sebastian, Lawrence, George, Anthony of Padua, Teresa of Avila, and John de Britto each have one basilica. Pondicherry's Sacred Heart Basilica is the only basilica in Asia dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
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Maps
References
- 1.Robert F. McNamara, Minor Basilicas in the United States
- 2.Beside the Velankanni and Harihar basilicas, Our Lady of Good Health is also the patron of St. Mary's Basilica, Bengaluru & Besant Nagar Annai Velankanni Shrine.