Holy Spirit Church, Vembar, Tuticorin District, Tamil Nadu
Vembar
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Holy Spirit Church, Vembar |
History of the Holy Spirit
Church
After 1542 Jesuit Priest “St. Francis
Xavier” travelled through the coastal regions and he helped build several churches.
During this time the Vembar church was built with walls made of clay and roofs
made of thatched leaves. History states that in 1600, Jesuit records in Rome
noted that Vembar’s church was the biggest and beautiful among all the coastal
churches built during that time. It should be noted that around 40 churches
were built along the coastal areas and Vembar's church was the biggest and
beautiful.
This church started deteriorating and
during 1720′s a second church was built close to
the first church and was named "The Holy Spirit Church". In 1709 a
terrible plague stuck the people of Vembar. This plague took many lives and
incapacitated many in Vembar which lasted for nearly 2 years. During this time
people were asked to seek St. Sebastian’s intervention, a warrior saint from Milan , Italy
The second church built during 1720′s also started collapsing in the
beginning of the 20th century. It was decided that a new church would be built
with strength to sustain for several years. In 1908 construction of a new
church began at the same location and the stones and woods from the old church
were used for this building. People of Vembar contributed heavily to build this
new church. Finally on 1st February 1915 the new church was blessed and
consecrated to “The Holy Spirit” by Parish priest Fr. Swaminathar in the
presence of Tiruchi Bishop Rev. Augustine Faisandier.
It should be noted that from 1876
Vembar had been a big mission with 25 substations. From Vaipar to Tuticorin all
the churches were annexed with Vembar until 1908 when all churches were moved
under Tuticorin diocese. Today the new church in Vembar which was constructed
in 1915 lies few metres away from the first church which St. Francis Xavier
built during his time. Year 2015 celebrated the centenary of the new church in
Vembar.
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Church's altar |
St. Sebastian
The feast of St. Sebastian (as the patron Saint of Vembar)
is observed on January 20th world over. As the patron saint of Vembar village
the Holy Spirit Church celebrates this feast with much fanfare and grandeur. St. Sebastian from
Milan, Italy (256 AD – 288 AD) lived way before other known saints existed, yet
the awareness in India is minimal. There are very few churches in India
dedicated to this saint and Vembar is one such village which has a long
standing relationship with St. Sebastian. He is considered a warrior saint,
saint for archers and protector against plagues.
Sebastian was an officer in the
praetorian guards in Roman Army under Emperor Diocletian and he secretly
worshipped Jesus Christ. During those times (from 1 AD to 300 AD) anyone following
Jesus or embracing his teachings was considered a traitor by the Romans and they
were prosecuted. When it was discovered that Sebastian was following Christ, he
was ordered to be killed. On the Emperor Diocletian’s order he was tied to a
tree and shot with 7 arrows and left to die. A widow named Irene went to
retrieve his body to bury it and she found he was still alive and nursed him
back to good health.
Soon after this Sebastian met
the Emperor, denounced him for his cruelty to Christians. This time he was
beaten badly on the Emperor’s orders and died immediately. His body was thrown
into the common sewer. A pious lady named Lucina got Sebastian’s body buried it
in the catacombs at the entrance of the cemetery of Calixtus, where now stands
the Basilica of St. Sebastian in Rome, Italy.
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| St. Sebastian's procession in Vembar |
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St. Sebastian |
