Church of Our Lady of Rosary of Mangalore (), or Rosario Cathedral is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

cathedral in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Mangalore The Diocese of Mangalore () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Mangalore, India. The diocese is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese o ...

, dedicated to

Our Lady of the Rosary Our Lady of the Rosary (), also known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, is a Titles of Mary, Marian title. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as Feast of Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary is celebrated on 7 October ...

. It was the first Roman Catholic church in the

Canara Kanara or Canara, also known as Karāvali, is the historically significant stretch of land situated by the southwestern Konkan coast of India, alongside the Arabian Sea in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka. The subregion comprises thr ...

region. Historically, this was the only parish church in Mangalore reserved for the high-caste

Mangalorean Catholics Mangalorean Catholics () are an ethno-religious community of Latin Church in India, Latin Christians from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mangalore, Diocese of Mangalore and the erstwhile South Canara area; by the southern coast of present-day Kar ...

. It is the oldest church in Karnataka.

History

The church of Our Lady of Rosary of Mangalore was originally the church of the old Portuguese factory. It was built by the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

in 1568. Oral tradition states that the image of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

at the high altar was found by the fishermen at sea; when it got caught in their net. It was later brought to the church and installed there. The church was the main centre of devotion for the ''

Bamonn Roman Catholic Brahmin (IAST ''Bamonns'' in Romi Konkani & ''Kupari'' in Bombay East Indian dialects) is a Christianised caste among the Goan, Bombay East Indian & Mangalorean Catholics; who are patrilineal descendants of Konkani Brahmin and ...

'' caste who revered the image of Our Lady of the Rosary on the high-altar. It was mentioned by the Italian traveller Pietro Della Valle, when he visited Mangalore in 1623. The church was desecrated and destroyed by Mysorean ruler

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...

in 1784. Reconstruction of the church later began in 1813. In 1910, the structure of the old cathedral was demolished and the present cathedral erected in its place. The church of Our Lady of Rosary is the only church in the

Mangalore Diocese The Diocese of Mangalore () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Mangalore, India. The diocese is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of ...

which has a dome crowning the spacious sanctuary. The cross on the cathedral's dome was traditionally lit every night to serve as a beacon for seafarers. The royal stone emblem of the Portuguese king marking their landing at Mangalore lies at the entrance of the church. In 1851, the Church of Our Lady of Rosary, Mangalore, was declared a

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

. In 1910, Henry Buzzoni a Jesuit priest started further beautification of the cathedral. The formal dedication was done in 1915 by Bishop Paul Perini of Mangalore (1910–28).

Structure

The architect of the new cathedral was a Jesuit brother, Divo of Bombay. The structure consists of a series of matching arches, with 48 major arches, 12 central arches and 50 sub-arches. The peripheral verandah has around 45 small arches. The dome is a replica of the

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

, with heavy metal ribs, minor re-enforcements of metal, red brick and mortar water-proofed using indigenous techniques. In years gone by, the dome of the cathedral could be seen by ships approaching the Mangalore harbour, and was a beautiful sight.

Citations

References

*. * * {{refend Churches in Mangalore Diocese Roman Catholic cathedrals in Karnataka Tourist attractions in Mangalore Roman Catholic churches in Mangalore Church buildings with domes