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Friday, March 22, 2019

CSI St. Thomas Church, Ooty, Nilgiris

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.

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