By Verghese V Joseph –
The current Corona pandemic has been a cause of despair to many. Reading up on some related content, I stumbled upon a fascinating story which some old-timers of Bengaluru might relate to, considering the present situation.
There’s an interesting connection between St. Mary’s Basilica of Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) and to the dreaded outbreak of bubonic plague (1896-1899) in India. The plague referred to as Black Death spread terror across the word and Bombay and Calcutta Presidencies, Mysore State, Dharwad and Hyderabad. The British Medical Journal states that there were 36,381 seizures in Bombay, 7,176 in Bangalore and around 36,459 in Dharwad during that period.
In 1809, the British had established a cantonment (present day Shivajinagar) in Bangalore, when the city was part of the princely state of Mysore. This attracted Europeans, Anglo-Indians and Parsis to settle in the city although most of the original residents lived in the ‘old city’, which consisted of localities known as ‘pethes’.
The plague struck both the City and Cantonment areas of Bangalore. The first case that occurred was in the Cantonment on August 15, 1898. A servant of the railway superintendent, who had arrived from north Karnataka’s Hubli, died due to plague.
On the following day, plague cases were reported among the coolies who worked in the railway trans-shipping good sheds in the city area. The first few infections occurred in the houses surrounding the good sheds of the City’s railway station.
It spread quickly to the dense city areas. The Cantonment too caught it after a second case was reported six weeks later. It quickly went out of control. According to the Plague Commission Report released in 1899, there were 2,665 official and around 3,393 unofficial deaths in the city and 3,321 deaths in the Cantonment.
Faith Matters
St Mary’s Basilica has its humble origins as a thatched hut in the 17th century. The Italian Jesuits of the Malabar Mission were the founders of the Mysore Mission in the 17th Century, who were succeeded by the French Jesuits from Madura and Carnatic Missions in the 18th Century. History has it that during the 17th Century, some Christians came from Gingee, Tamil Nadu, found that the land in Cantonment was fertile for rice cultivation and began to settle down. In order to practice their religion, they built a thatched hut and named it as the “Chapel of Kanikkai Madha”, which in Kannada means the Church of Our Lady of the Presentation in the honour of St. Mary, Mother of Jesus.
The place took the name ‘Biliakkipalli’ or ‘Blackpally’ because it is said that the rice they cultivated was white and also because a number of white birds were found in those rice fields. However, according to a prominent historian S K Aruni, Blackpally could have been named after John Blakiston (1785-1867), who designed the layout of the Bangalore Cantonment.
Later a French MEP priest Jean-Antoine Dubois built a chapel and the structure was called Kaanike Mathe Devalaya, Then Rev. Fr. Andreas, an Indian priest from Pondicherry succeeded him and he expanded the Church building in the shape of Cross.
In 1832, due to some communal riots, the church was pulled and pillaged. Fr. Beauchaton, the then Parish Priest, narrowly escaped death by the tactful handling of the situation by the Christian people. Troops arrived to restore peace and the government had the Church guarded first by the European soldiers and later by Indian sepoys for many months.
Later in 1898 when Bangalore was hit by the deadly plague, it left thousands dead in its wake. It spread through the entire Blackpalli region. People of all faiths – Hindus, Muslims and Christians – gathered inside the small Catholic church and prayed at the shrine of Mother Mary for deliverance and healing from the plague. It’s a fervent belief that Mother Mary interceded for the victims and the plague vanished from the vicinity. Since she cured the people from the dreadful disease and gave them good health, she was also called as ‘Annai Arokiamarie’ (Our Lady of Good Health). It was decided to name the church as ‘Annai Arokiamarie!’
Since then, devotees of all faiths even those from outside Bengaluru, have been coming to pray at the church. Recognising the deep devotion of the people of all faiths to Our Lady of Good Health, the church was raised to the status of ‘Minor Basilica’ ’ on 26th September, 1973 by Pope Paul VI.
St. Mary’s Basilica is a spacious church, designed in the form of a Cross. A beautiful statue of Mother Mary holding Child Jesus in her arms is the chief object of veneration and source of inspiration for the people.
It is interesting to note that all the other parishes of Bengaluru were born out of this ancient parish of St. Mary’s Church. Since then, every year this day stands as a remarkable significance of God’s grace. The main feast is celebrated on 8th September every year. The feast is considered by the people, not only as the Feast of the Parish, but also for the whole of the Archdiocese and State of Karnataka.
Following the tradition, people from across the city still head to the church to pray. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the shrine outside the church is kept open for people to stop by and pray! So, the next time you admire the colonial church’s Gothic architecture and stained glass windows, take a moment to remember the rich history it stands for a history that spans more than two hundred years!
Today, as we remember with admiration doctors, nurses, priests, who are saving lives in the battle against corona virus, let us also remember Saint Jerome Miani, a Venetian lay saint (Venice 1486 – Somasca 1537) who, after his conversion to a fervent Christian life, put his whole life at the service of the poor and the completely abandoned children. Jerome had to face two epidemics by which he was himself was affected by the plague: the first in 1528, from which he recovered, and the second in 1537, which was eventually the cause of his death.
References:
https://www.deccanherald.com/content/185500/plague-shook-bangalore.html
https://www.indiancatholicmatters.org/churches-in-india-dedicated-to-mother-mary/
https://starofmysore.com/time-to-take-a-look-at-bubonic-plague-of-1896/