Milagres Church – Mangalore

The Milagres Church (Church of Our Lady of Miracles) is a historic Roman Catholic Church situated in the Hampankatta - Mangalore.

The church was built in 1680 by Bishop Thomas de Castro, a Theatine from Divar, Goa. He was the nephew of Dom Matheus de Castro (1594−1677), the first Indian Bishop of The Catholic Church.

In 1680, Bishop Thomas de Castro built a chapel on the site of the present cemetery. In 1756, a new church was built where the present church stands when Fr Antony Pinto was Vicar.

 This church was destroyed in 1784 by Tippu Sultan during his rule (1782-1799), together with 26 other churches in Canara. The third church was built, after the return of captives of Tippu Sultan, in 1800, by a certain Lawrence Bellow, said to be a baker for the British. It was a thatched chapel, at a cost of Rs. 400, on the site of the present church – with Fr. Mendes as Chaplain. The fourth church was built on a stronger foundation, in 1811, when Fr. Mendes was Vicar Vara and Fr Manuel Cajetan Gomes was Vicar. On the collapse of this structure, in 1910/11, the present church was constructed when Fr Frank Pereira was Vicar. This magnificent, breath-taking building, with arches, ornate pillars, loft, towers, pulpit (now removed) and canopy over Mother Mary’s statue has endured to celebrate its first centenary. The portico was added when Fr Albert D’Souza was Vicar (1954-1957).

 The church`s compound has engraved with sculptures of the  Jesus.

It is believed that the soldiers of Tipu Sultan once destroyed some parts of the church - the stones were used by Tipu to build the Idgah on Lighthouse Hill.

St Antony

The designer

Milagres Church is considered as one of the beautiful artistic houses of prayer in Mangalore embedded with architectural beauty.

The church has a superb altar with a French painting of St Monica and St Augustine, really an awesome rare piece of art worth visiting.

 

After Tipu was killed by the British during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War on 4 May 1799, the Mangalorean Catholics were freed from Captivity and most subsequently returned to Mangalore. Among the returnees was a baker Lawrence Bello, who built a chapel to replace the demolished church, on the site of the present church.