The State government has released Rs. 2.7 crore to repair St. Philomena’s Church in the city.
A prominent landmark adorning the city skyline, the church is currently undergoing major repair works. The initial cost of the repairs was pegged at Rs. 6 crore, against which the State government released Rs. 2.5 crore when Jagadish Shettar was Chief Minister.
Out of this amount, Rs. 50 lakh came through the Department of Tourism, government of Karnataka, while donors chipped in with nearly Rs. 54 lakh.
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Church authorities said about 35 per cent of the repair work has been completed and the latest grant issued from the Tourism Department will help to complete the rest of the work.
The Parish Priest of St. Philomena’s Church Fr. A.K. Williams said in a release that the repairs have been taken up the Department of Archaeology in part, while the Church Building Committee comprising engineers, consultants, architects, and prominent citizens of Mysuru supervised the work pertaining to roof, plastering of twin towers, electrical wiring, etc., without compromising on the architectural design and profile of the structure.
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St. Philomena’s Church is a prominent tourist spot in Mysuru and the foundation stone for the edifice was laid by the then Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV in 1933.
The twin towers which can be viewed from a distance have a height of about 208 feet while the length of the church is 165 feet. It has 14 Corinthian-style pillars and the sanctuary was sculpted by an Italian sculptor from Venice. In the basement of the Church is a sanctuary of St. Philomena in the Catechumen style found in the early centuries in Europe, said Fr. Williams.
The Church is dedicated to St. Philomena who, according to legend, was martyred in Greece when she was 13 years old in the 3rd century A.D.