Our Lady of Dolours Basilica

Our Lady of Dolours Basilica, called Puthanpally, is a minor basilica of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in Thrissur, Kerala, India. It is the third tallest church in Asia and is renowned for its architecture in the Gothic style.

Designed in a fine Indo-Gothic style with an area of 25,000 square feet, the gateway has towering belfries, double-storeyed aisles all over the nave and transepts, and eleven altars, five on each side of the main one. It is the largest church in India and contains exquisite examples of murals, pictures of saints, and scenes from the Scriptures in its exuberant interior decorations.

The original church building was founded in 1814 and was restored in 1929 as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Basilica of Our Lady of Dolours. The Christian community, which followed Chaldean Catholic Bishop Elias Mellus, renamed it “Mart Mariam Major Church” at the time.

The building of this church was carried out in various stages, of which two towers were constructed of 146 feet each and the height of the central tower was 260 feet. The main attraction of the church is to experience its architectural elegance and see its wonderful interior decoration, many tourists visit this famous tourist spot.