| Bandel Church | |
|---|---|
| The Basilica of the Holy-Rosary,Bandel | |
.jpg) Thefaçade of the Bandel Church | |
 Bandel Church | |
| Location | Bandel, West Bengal |
| Country | India |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| History | |
| Status | Minor basilica |
| Founded | 1599 |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Calcutta |
| Deanery | Hoogly |
| Clergy | |
| Archbishop | Thomas D'Souza |
TheBasilica of the Holy Rosary (commonly known asBandel Church) is one of the oldestChristianchurches inWest Bengal,India. Situated inBandel,Hooghly district of West Bengal, it stands as a memorial to thePortuguese settlement inBengal. Founded in 1599, it is dedicated toNossa Senhora do Rosário, Our Lady of the Rosary. It is also aparish church, part of theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta.[1] It is one of the most prominent historical churches in West Bengal as well as in India.
_with_Jesus_at_the_Basilica_of_the_Holy_Rosary_in_Bandel%2c_Hooghly%2c_West_Bengal%2c_India%2c_photographed_by_Yogabrata_Chakraborty_on_October_12%2c_2017.jpg)
…the Portuguese church, which is now the great sight of modern Bandel. This, the oldest Christian place of worship in Bengal, India, was founded in 1599, the year in whichQueen Elizabeth sanctioned the establishment of theEast India Company. It was burnt in the sack of Hooghly by the Moors in 1632, but the keystone with the date 1599 was preserved and built into the gate of the new church erected by John Comes de Soto in 1661. It is dedicated to Nossa Senhora di Rosario and contains a monastery once occupied by Augustinian friars, the last of whom died in 1869… Some 380bigghahs of land, out of the 777 granted rent-free byShah Jehan, are still enjoyed… Every November the church is thronged with pilgrims during the Novena of Notre Dame de Bon Voyage.[2]
Around the middle of the 16th century, the Portuguese began using Bandel as aport. During or around 1571, they were given permission byAkbar, theMughal emperor, to build a town inHooghly. As they began settling around the area, theirpriests began tobaptise the natives — by 1598,Catholics in Hooghly numbered around five thousand, including natives and mixed races.
In 1579, the Portuguese built a port on the banks of theHooghly, as well as afort named Fort Ugolim, and enlisted the services of a band ofAugustinianfriars, then the largest religious body inGoa. The following year, Captain Pedro Tavares obtained the emperor's full permission to preach the Catholic faith publicly, and erect churches. Thus the Bandel Church came to be constructed in 1599.[3][4]
This first church was burnt down during the sacking of Hooghly by the Mughals in 1632. A newer church, constructed by Gomez de Soto (also spelt John Comes de Soto), was built over the ruin in 1660. Thekeystone of the older church can still be seen on the eastern gate of the monastery, bearing the date 1599.[4][5]
On November 25, 1988, PopeJohn Paul II declared the sanctuary aminor basilica.[6]
A ship's mast stands in front of the church; it was presented to the church by the captain of a vessel that had encountered a storm in theBay of Bengal, whose rescue was attributed to Mary's intercession. The church has threealtars, several tombstones, apipe organ, and a shrine to Mary.
Media related toBandel Church at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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| National | |
22°55′08″N88°23′43″E / 22.9190°N 88.3952°E /22.9190; 88.3952
