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LUZ CHURCH
- OUR LADY OF LIGHT
 Tucked
away in a tiny corner of Mylapore is the church of 'Our Lady
of Light' or more popularly the 'Luz Church'. The church
has lent its name to the area around it and to the road leading
up to it as the Luz Church Road.
Also known as the 'Kaatu kovil' (Church located in a forest)
locally, it lays claim to being the oldest church in Chennai, a
claim that is not well documented though. The now busy Luz
area was in early days supposed to have been filled with mangroves,
where St. Thomas is believed to have once rested.
The church was built by Franciscan missionaries from Portugal in
honour of Mother Mary in 1516. The austere façade of the
church belies the splendour of its baroque interiors with its gilded
altars, the fine tracery railings of the pulpit and choir, the original
polychrome santos and frescoed ceilings. The Luz Church reflects
the fashions and trends of typical European ecclesiastical architecture.
The Gothic arches and flying buttresses, baroque ornamentation and
elegant classical lines, have been heavily influenced by European
style. The Luz Church is a fine example of the Portuguese,
impressive attempts to replicate their great churches in faraway
lands.
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 The
term Baroque was imported from Italy, where it received
its name.
It gave birth to the spirit of the Counter Reformation. Fundamentally
a decorative style of capricious, elaborate and ornate forms,
baroque impregnated all religious monuments of preceding epochs
superimposing its style on both Gothic and Romanesque architecture.
The expressions of an art that existed alongside the Herreran
style during the Golden Age and lasted until the beginning
of the 18th century.
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Fr. Thekkeperumbuthur Joseph George (Thekkeperumbuthur in
Malayalam means big paddy field down south - the home town of Fr.
George) or Fr. T J George as he is better known to his parishioners
says, "The legend goes thus, A group of Franciscan missionaries
were coming on a mission to preach the good news in the land of
India. But when the boat neared the Coromandel Coast, they
were stranded out on the rough seas, as they were unable to locate
the shore. Anxiously they beseeched Mother Mary. Then
a mysterious light appeared and they were guided to the shores of
Mylapore, then a village. Having landed at the shore, they
found that the light led them still further and disappeared at the
place where the church stands today. They built the church
at the very spot where the light vanished in gratitude to 'Nossa
senhora de Luz (Our Lady of Light)'. Luz in Portuguese means
light. Thus was born the name Luz, by which the whole surrounding
area of the church is known".
The Church has had its share of tribulations, having first suffered
damage when Golconda forces occupied it in the 17th
century and later when forces of Hyder Ali occupied it, in
the late 18th century. The East India Company
has also occupied the Luz for some time.
Fr. T J George has a very interesting story to tell about the centrepiece
of attraction on the ceiling frescoe - the 'Franciscan emblem'.
"The emblem shows two hands as if embracing each other.
One is said to be the hand of Saint Francis and the other of Jesus
Christ. Once when Saint Francis of Assisi was praying he wanted
to embrace Jesus. In response to that wish in his mind, Jesus
is believed to have embraced him. This inspired the emblem,
which is the emblem of the Franiscan congregation", he
says.
 It
is the first Church to be built in honour of 'Our Lady of Light'
in Tamil Nadu, the main feast of the Church is celebrated on August
15th. The feast is celebrated with a grand mass
and car procession. August 15th, which also happens
to be the day of our Independence, is the day when the feast of
the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin (Mother Mary) is celebrated.
Author : Joseph Pradeep Raj R
Photographs : V Ganesan |
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