This Christmas, ‘Footlooseinme’ takes you on a tour through the Churches of Udupi. This post is primarily a picture post showing the attractive Churches of Udupi. The city is dotted with such impressive structures in every lane and bylanes. I was surprised to come across these churches on my way to my destinations. I immediately decided to dedicate a separate blog post to show the churches. So let’s go through the streets of Udupi to see the beautiful Churches here. Explore the enchanting Churches in Udupi this festive season!
Unveiling Udupi’s Christmas Charm: A Pictorial Journey Through Churches
What could be a better occasion than Christmas Day to share this post on the Churches of Udupi? So I decided to interrupt my ongoing series of Jaisalmer and insert this post within. (Read my previous post on Sam Sand Dunes Jaisalmer and Jaisalmer City.)
As I mentioned earlier, all the churches I saw here were accidental encounters which brought me great surprise and joy. I only planned a visit to the St Lawrence Shrine Basilica in Attur.
St Lawrence Shrine Basilica is located on the outskirts of Karkala close to Udupi. A pleasant drive through the winding roads brought us to this magnificent structure within the calm green surroundings away from the crowded touristy destinations.
There is an interesting story associated with this church. A parish church used to be about 4 km away from this church. Tipu Sultan the then-ruler of the kingdom took the Christians under captivity during 1784-1799 and demolished the church. After they were released from captivity they built a simple church with a thatched roof. But the church building did not last long.
Divine Guidance in the Quest for Churches in Udupi
The devotees, under a Goan priest’s guidance, started to look for a suitable site to build a church. They started walking with the one-foot-long wooden statue of St Lawrence and praying to him to guide them to find a place to build a church. They were tired of walking through the forest when they found a spring. To quench their thirst they placed the statue on the ground. After drinking the water they wanted to resume their journey but to their surprise, they could not lift the statue, it was immovable and still like a tree.
The priest saw this as a divine signal and decided to build the church here and then they could lift the statue. At the same spot the church was built and it stands here today. This miraculous act of God spread far and wide and the church had more and more devotees.
Rev Fr Fredrick P S Moniz built a small shrine in 1975 where the miraculous wooden statue of St Lawrence is preserved. The miraculous pond has also been rebuilt according to the local architectural style and is accessible to the devotees.
This church today stands as the epitome of faith that welcomes visitors of every religion and belief. I end this story of St Lawrence Shrine and the post on the Churches of Udupi with faith in unity and love. Wishing my readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Read my previous post on Churches of Pune.
Read my previous post on Churches of Kolkata.
Read my previous post on Churches of Goa.
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