Red walls. White pillars. Pilgrims and tourists alike look in awe as the twin towers of this massive cathedral in New Delhi climb into the sky.
Each tower has a porch with a triangular pediment on all four sides. An octagonal belfry with white pillar supports topped each porch. A pinnacle stands on every pillar, surrounding the base of the smaller octagonal and pillared lantern sitting on each porch. And a dome finally topped the entire length of each tower as its roof.
The length of the towers taper in size as they ascend from the base to the peak.
The facade of the church has white pillars that support a canopy with a triangular pediment. The church is accessible from the front by way of three tall arched entrances.
Worshippers climb five steps to the front entrance. The surface of the top step can accommodate dozens of standing people.
Inside the church, the people walked on stone floors. The ceiling is tall and concave. Wide arches separate the rectangular pillars. The exterior is mostly white from the walls to the pillars, arches, and roof.
The pews are dark brown, giving the exterior a simple and classic contrast.
The Last Supper is recounted in a large fresco at the apse behind the marble altar.
A chapel on the left side holds a crucifix and a statue of Mary, placed next to one another.
Henry Medd, a British architect, designed the church with Italian architecture.
The cathedral is nestled in lush laws of the 14-acre land.
Christianity began in Delhi in 1626 during the Mughal Empire, a Southeast Asian monarchy that reigned from 1526 to 1857.
It arrived in Delhi after Emperor Akbar invited 1579 Jesuit priests based in Goa, a state on the southwestern coast of India, to hear about Christianity.
Delhi was one of the capitals of the Mughal Empire. Akbar was the third Mughal emperor and one of the greatest emperors of India. He was only 13 years of age when he rose to power.
To unite different religions across his empire and to foster religious harmony, he developed and promoted the Din-i-Ilahi, a religious system incorporating elements of Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity.
Akbar's courts in Delhi drew the interest of religious men for his eagerness in and recognition of different faiths.
He dispatched his men to Goa asking the leadership of the Portuguese clergy to send over some priests. Three Catholic priests arrived and introduced him to the Catholic faith. A copy of the Bible was gifted to him by the missionaries.
The Carmelites arrived in the following decades, then the Capuchins.
In 1723, Fr. Ippolito Desideri, an Italian Jesuit, arrived in Delhi from a mission in Tibet, where he built a church. He also built the first church in Delhi - the St. Mary's Church in the same year.
In 1919 Fr. Luke Vannucci Ernesto da Prato, an Italian Capuchin, set foot in old Delhi. He restored St. Mary's Church and acquired a plot of land measuring 14 acres. He sought financial assistance from the locals and charitable people back in his homeland Italy to build the Sacred Heart Cathedral.
The colonial officials of the British Empire also helped finance its construction.
In 1930, the construction of the cathedral began. After five years, the cathedral was completed.
The Convent of Jesus and Mary School for Girls was built on 14 acres of land in 1923. In 1940, the St. Columba's Boys' School was erected.
The cathedral and the two schools are located on Bhai Vir Singh Road in Connaught Place in New Delhi.
Pope John Paul II visited India in 1986. He visited this cathedral the following day, he set foot in the country. He visited India for the second time in 1999. In this visit, he made public his Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation “Ecclesia in Asia” (The Church in Asia).
In 2021, a bronze statue of his was unveiled at the cathedral.
In his statue, John stands with his arms spread, symbolizing his love for the people of India. The statue faces the tree he planted on his first visit.
New Delhi is part of Delhi, a city and a union territory of India.
New Delhi, the country's capital, is also the seat of India's three branches of government - the Rashtrapati Bhavan (the president's official residence), the Sansad Bhavan (the parliament house), and the Supreme Court.
The cathedral is a testament to centuries of missions that went through all forms of challenges before arriving at a long-lasting triumph.
