The location could well be the heart of historic Vizag, because, just
off the Main Road in old Vizag, the grand buildings of yesteryear were
gradually constructed. Some like the LMS Telugu Chapel (todays CSI
Church), the LMS Vizagapatam High School (todays CBM High School), the
Hindu Library, and the Town Hall remain. The Mahal (Maharajah Gajapathi
Rao’s mansion) and Kurupam Market have been demolished, and the original
cemetery nearby is in ruins. However, one forgotten treasure of Vizag
remains and it is the Founding Catholic Church – St Anne’s Cathedral
that was constructed in the 1850’s. The cathedrals builder Rev Father
Jean Marie Tissot, was Vizag’s premier architect who also built St
Aloysius School, the Fort and Waltair Convents, the Ross Hill Chapel and led the establishment of the Catholic faith and modern education for the masses, especially Telugu girls, in the region. The
history of the Catholic Church in Vizag can be traced back to 1770. A
Portuguese merchant residing in Vizagapatam named Paul Rosario who gave
his house and property to the Theotine Fathers visiting from Goa on the
condition that it should be used as a chapel dedicated to St. Anne. This
is the very first Catholic Church in Vizagapatam. The Catholics in
those days were mostly Europeans and Eurasian, either army personnel or
their families. When the first Missionaries of St. Francis de
Sales (MSFS) reached Vizag on 19th February 1846 it was to this St.
Anne’s chapel that the Catholic soldiers enthusiastically took them.
Monsignor Neyret and Father J M Tissot prepared the plans of the
Cathedral; the old chapel was pulled down and on 2nd February 1852 Fr.
Tissot laid the foundation stone in the absence of the Vicar Apostolic.
On 8th December 1854 Bishop Neyret consecrated the new Cathedral. An
early graphic illustration of 1907 was reproduced on the front cover of
the French periodical Les Missions. The original building of the St Anne’s Cathedral was a house about
70 feet long with verandahs. The Theotine priests converted the
verandahs to rooms and the house to a small chapel. After the last
Theotine Fr. D’Attaide, the MSFS priests renovated the building by
opening the verandah rooms to the inside of the church and creating a
church with three naves. The arrival of a community of nuns of St Joseph
of Annecy required a house be built for them in the Fort area but
increasing religious activity needed a grand church worthy of the
religions standing. They wanted a Gothic style design but there were no
architects to consult or materials to build with, but the land around St
Anne’s was an ideal site. Fr Tissot decided to make his own
bricks and made 1,200,000 bricks at one-third the cost of the poor
quality ones being offered for sale. The local Irish Catholic soldiers
made modest donations of Rupees 600 in keeping with their modest means
but gave their labour in the manual construction including going up and
down to Dolphin’s Nose to reclaim bricks from an old Dutch house. Fr
Tissot would draw his plans in the sand to illustrate the dimensions,
elevation of the vaults, number of naves, and their width. There would
be, in addition to the three interior naves, two outer naves, which
would be turn into verandahs. Above these would be a floor, where rooms
would be built for the missionaries to stay. These rooms would firstly
house the Sister of St Joseph. They would also install sacristies behind
the three altars of the sanctuary and at the end of the outer verandahs
would run staircases leading to the upper floor. The building would
become a grand edifice, sleek in proportions, its pointed windows,
graceful interior and grandiose aspect. In 1858 the Sisters of St.
Joseph began to stay in the Cathedral until 1898 when they permanently
shifted to Waltair Convent, then newly built. So, for 40 years the
Cathedral served as a convent for the Sister’s of St Joseph. Between
1920 and 1935 the cathedral was also a boarding home for boys till it
was shifted to St. Anthony’s in 1939. The cathedrals’ Episcopal Consecration is reported in Catholic journals as …’26
July 1891 on the Feast of St Anne, Mgr Jean-Marie Clerc, eveque elu
derecevra la consecration episcopale dans son englise cathedrale, le
jour de la fete de Sainte-Anne, 26 juilet. Le prelate consecrareur sera
Mgr Joseph Coglan, archeveque de Madras et metropolitain. ‘ Reporting on the ordination of Bishop Clerc in 1891, the Madras Mail describes the decorations of the cathedral for the event…’arches
of palm branches with ferns and flowers with flags and banners
fluttering from its grey turrets…and on entering the cathedral, one
cannot but be struck by the appearance of a new and handsome cenotaph to
the memory of the late Bishop Tissot. It is a slab of white marble in
the form of a lancet shaped arch, set in a frame of black marble
following the same outline, and ornamented with a gilded pattern
representing vine leaves. The slab is surrounded by a monogram of Greek
characters X. P. and has the emblematic letters Alpha and Omega engraved
on the sides. At the foot are grouped a cross, and anchor and a heart, a
well-known symbol of the theological virtues, Faith, Hope and Charity.
Immediately above the inscription we see, in relief, the late Prelates
coat of arms consisting of a Bishops hat, a shield with a chalice
portrayed upon it, and, as moot, the words, ‘Da robur, fer auxilium’
from the familiar Eucharistic hymn ‘O Salutaris’. The inscription gives
the Bishop’s name and rank, the dates respectively of his admission to
the priesthood, of his elevation to the episcopate, and, of his lamented
demise besides mentioning where he died and the place of his sepulture.
It goes on to say that ‘ for 45 years he strenuously labored as a good
soldier of Christ, beloved by God and man. The inscription concludes
with the letters R.I.P., and the statement that the cenotaph was…
Erected by his sincere friend and pupil, Ananda Gajapathi Raj,
Maharajah, Vizianagram.’ The Madras Catholic Watchman reported in 1889 that … ‘Rev Tissot
introduced to Vizagapatam, for the first time, the following: – The tube
well; the ice making machine; the sewing machine; the cloth washing
machine; the kneading machine; the grinding machine and the kitchen
range or stove. The greatest architects of the town were at one time
under the training of His Lordship. The superb Cathedral of St Anne is a
standing memorial to His Lordship’s skill in architecture; the building
is decidedly second to none in this part of the Northern Circars.’ The
St Anne’s cathedral structure has been subject to the harshness of the
many monsoons and cyclones that have battered Vizag over the years.
Perhaps this explains the drab protective tile cladding applied to the
cathedrals brick and chunam exterior and the change in some
architectural features. One wonders how Vizag’s own Hill Chapel, Waltair
Convent and the other great cathedrals in South India have been well
restored and maintained to retain their original glory? Has Vizag’s
premier Catholic Cathedral been relegated in prominence or has it just
been ‘forgotten’? This article on St Anne’s Cathedral in Vizag
has been written by John Castellas whose family belonged to Vizag for 5
generations. Educated at St Aloysius, migrated to Melbourne, Australia
in 1966, former General Manager Engineering at Boeing & Qantas
Airways, in retirement Lecturers in Aviation Management at Swinburne
University and is a Vizag aficionado.
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