CSI St. Thomas Church, Ooty,
Nilgiris
CSI St. Thomas Church is located in
Fern Hill near Ooty Town in Ooty Taluk
of Nilgiris District of Tamilnadu. It is one of the oldest churches
in the Nilgiris district.
It was built in 1870 overlooking the lake. It forms a part of the Diocese of
Ooty. It commands a spectacular view of Ooty Lake. The Memorial of St. Thomas
within the St. Thomas Church boasts of a huge pillar that is crowned by a cross
that also marks as the grave of William Patrick Adam, who was the former
governor of Madras and passed away in 1881 in Ooty where he was buried.
Another tourist spot of St.
Thomas Church that attracts many visitors is the Graveyard of this Church, that
also served as a movie shooting site for the famous and renowned ‘A Passage to
India’, a Film based on a novel by E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of
the Indian independence movement during the British Raj in the 1920s. This
Movie was directed by David Lean in the year 1984.
On 1st September 2008, St.
Thomas Church was segregated from its parent parish and was assigned as an
independence parish with Rev. Fr. A. Denis as the first Parish Priest serving a
catholic congregation of 190 families. It comprises of the Religious order of
the Sisters of the Divine Savior also known as SDS in short. This Church also
runs the St. Thomas Nursery & Primary School Educational Centre.
The
Church is located at about 400
meters from Ooty Bus Stand, 600 meters from Ooty Railway Station, 1 Km from Ooty,
20 Kms from Coonoor, 30 Kms from Kotagiri, 51 Kms from Mettupalayam Railway
Station, 84 Kms from Coimbatore and 88 Kms from Coimbatore Airport. Private Taxis
are available from Ooty and Coonoor to reach this place. Ooty is well connected
to Coimbatore, Kerala and Karnataka.
Location
