Seashore St Anthony Shrine Catholic Church

Sunday, I went to Mass on Seashore St Anthony Shrine Catholic Church. It is a beautiful church in the southeastern part of Chennai. It is much closer to the hotel than St Thomas Basilica.

The church doors and windows were wide open on the day I went to let in what little breeze there was. It was a very hot day even at 9am. As I looked inside I was struck by the cross at the front of the church. It is surrounded by blue neon light that doesn't look as cheesy as it sounds. There was stained glass windows on either side and above the cross. There were some renovation being done to the interior of the building, but it was still had an impressive appearance to me. I appreciate traditional looking churches and this one fit the bill. It has wooden pews with wooden kneelers. The kneelers have no padding on them. The building is generally rectangular in shape with a columns of pews on either side of the church. At the front of the church, there are extensions on either side of the altar that have seats available for parishiners. At the Mass I attended, the choir started the off with "Though The Mountains May Fall" which is a very common Christian song. And as I mentioned before, it was hot. Like the other church, this one had ceiling fans. Unlike the other church, not all of the ceiling fans were working. I felt sweat dripping down my body as I sit in my seat. The wood of the pews was uncomfortable to the touch because it was sticky from the humidity. I noticed that the priest and the altar boys were all barefoot. Several of the members of the congregation also were barefoot.

But all the normal events of the Catholic Mass were done as I expected them. Even Indians practice the Mass the same as we do in the United States. They are just a little more casual about it.

One of the draws of this church is that it has a pedestal outside the building that is about 100 feet tall. On top of the pedestal is a huge monstrance. This is said to be the highest monstrance in the world. It is gold (or gold-plated) and is visible for many miles around.