The skies are threatening to open up (again) when Saint Joseph’s Church rears up on the horizon in Perumpannaiyur, a village in Tiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu. The massive Roman Catholic shrine’s stately presence is unmissable in a landscape dominated by coconut palms, paddy fields and insistently crowing roosters.
The construction of this imposing structure began in 1871 by Sinnu Udayar, a wealthy Christian landowner, and continued for 14 years until his demise. Later, his nephew, Periasami Udayar, took up the work from 1915, and had the church consecrated by 1919. Signs of cement plaster on the walls indicate work that could have been done some years later too.
The wooden ‘ther’ (temple car) that is brought out for special occasions at St. Joseph’s Church in Perumpannaiyur village, Tiruvarur district. Photo: R.VENGADESH
| Photo Credit:
VENGADESH R
“Despite the long and intermittent periods of construction, the church is still incomplete,” says Fr. J. Albert Selvaraj, the parish priest who has been serving here since 2019. “Two bell towers in the front have been left unfinished, and the inner sections’ embellishment is yet to be carried out,” he adds.
Fr. Albert provides pastoral care for close to 500 parishioners in Perumpannaiyur, and the upkeep of St. Joseph’s Church is top priority on his daily roster.
A view of the St. Joseph’s Church in Perumpannaiyur village, Tiruvarur district.
| Photo Credit:
VENGADESH R
It is not an easy task to take care of this heritage building, as constant exposure to the elements is slowly eroding the edifice.
The building’s high walls make cleaning a tricky, if not a downright risky procedure. “Originally, a thin iron ladder with one end built into the wall was the only way to reach the rooftop. Since this was not practical, especially for repair work, we recently installed an iron staircase and winch,” says Fr. Albert.
A view of St. Joseph’s Church in Perumpannaiyur village, Tiruvarur district.
| Photo Credit:
VENGADESH R
Inside, the hall’s most striking feature is an intricately carved wooden altar, with wooden figures of Jesus Christ, St. Joseph, St. Francis Xavier and St. John de Britto, all polished to a stone-like finish.
Mother Mary draped in a powder blue sari lends an Indian touch.
The church is preparing to install the ‘kutil’ (crib), depicting the scene of Jesus Christ’s birth, ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations. “We have a good rush of visitors during the festive week, as many people drop in from nearby places to offer prayers and also take photos at the Nativity scene,” says Fr. Albert Selvaraj.
Affiliated at first to the Puducherry diocese, and then to
Kumbakonam, St. Joseph’s Church today is administered by the Thanjavur diocese.
Fr. J. Albert Selvaraj, parish priest, St. Joseph’s Church in Perumpannaiyur village, Tiruvarur district.
| Photo Credit:
VENGADESH R
“Five families related to Sinnu Udayar and his nephew Periasami Udayar were entrusted with administering the church on rotation every five years, using the income from the agricultural lands surrounding it. Two families opted out, and three were managing the finances until the 1970s,” says Fr. Albert Selvaraj.
Legal limits placed on land ownership in the mid-1970s whittled the fortunes of the caretakers, which, in turn, hit the maintenance of the church.
The two-tonne bell, made in France, installed in a separate tower on the premises of St. Joseph’s Church in Perumpannaiyur village, Tiruvarur district.
| Photo Credit:
VENGADESH R
“The entire village belongs to the church; it is ironic that the income from around 250 acres of cultivable land is not available for various reasons. In 2004, the church was handed over to the diocese for maintenance, and we have tried our best to mediate a middle path with the different parties involved, and keeping the church functional.”
“Among our immediate tasks is to get rid of the trees that have grown through the walls of the main church hall and roof, for which we are sourcing organic herbicides from Thanjavur. We also hope to whitewash at least the front elevation this year, though the whole building is in need of a fresh coat of paint,” says Fr. Albert.
The intricately carved wooden altar is the most striking feature of St. Joseph’s Church in Perumpannaiyur village, Tiruvarur district. The idols are also made of wood, and have been painted in natural dyes.
| Photo Credit:
VENGADESH R
The design
A 2013 study by the Department of Architecture at Periyar Maniammai Institute of Science and Technology (PMIST) in Thanjavur, provided the very first authentic blueprint of the church complex.
“The dimensions and scale of this building speak of Dutch and French influences, as can be seen from the inverted wineglass dome, stained glass windows, spires, frescos and statuary. But the construction is completely local, using ‘chappa kal’ (flat brick) and ‘chunnambu’ (lime mortar) on the walls, and lime oxide flooring. We wonder how the raw materials would have been transported so far,” says S. Rewanth, assistant professor at PMIST’s Architecture department, and a practising architect.
Rewanth, whose father A. Savariraj is the diocese’s architect, says that St. Joseph’s stands out for its massive dimensions.
“The windows are 15 ft high, with just single door shutters. According to our measurement, the dome height alone is 120 ft. Since the front ceiling that was to have been closed with a dome has been left incomplete, rain water gets into the building,” he says.
Two elaborately carved wooden temple cars are parked in a shed nearby, in itself a heritage building. But, that shed has developed a deep crack on its back wall. “We wonder when it will fall apart,” says Fr. Albert, as he leads the way to a tower constructed to hold the two-tonne bell imported from France, because the main church was not strong enough.
Its weight was discovered only when it was sent for repair in 1973 to the BHEL workshop in Tiruchi.
Repairing the shrine could cost approximately Rs 10 crore. “Despite all its problems, the church has withstood natural disasters such as the Gaja cyclone in 2018, and has been a refuge for families marooned during floods in the region. More than just a place of worship, St. Joseph’s Church should be conserved as an architectural monument,” says Fr. Albert.
