St. Thomas Mount

St. Thomas Mount

St. Thomas Mount is a small hillock located in Chennai Tamil Nadu, India. Located a little off Guindy and close to the flying range in Chennai, St. Thomas Mount is associated with St. Thomas, the apostle of Christ, who is believed to have been martyred here. The mount is known locally as "Peria Malai" (Big Mount—in Tamil language) or "Parangi Malai". A small relic-filled Church built in 1523 by the Portuguese stands at the summit of the 300 foot high St. Thomas Mount. The place was visited by Pope John Paul II during his visit to India on 5th February 1986. The Indian Army operates an Officers training Academy (OTA) on the mount. The South line of the Chennai suburban railway has a station named after St. Thomas Mount here.

St. Thomas Garrison Church is a 175 years old Church located at the foothills of the Mount. Built by the British it is a magnificient Church.

In 1972, to commemorate the nineteenth centenary of the martyrdom, the Government of India Department of Post and Telegraphs released a postage stamp depicting the picture of the bleeding cross of St. Thomas Mount. Earlier, in 1964, the Post and Telegraph department of India had released a stamp depicting the Ortona silver bust of St. Thomas located in Italy.