The white façade rises over the little town of Mahe, with a tower and a statue of the saint above the door. In October the whole town fills with pilgrims.

History

St Teresa's Shrine Basilica is a Catholic shrine to St Teresa of Ávila in Mahe, the old French enclave of Puducherry. An Italian Carmelite, Father Dominic of St John of the Cross, founded the Mahe Mission in 1723, and the shrine was dedicated in December 1736; it began as a thatched building. It was damaged in the wars between the French and the British and badly damaged in March 1779, then renovated around 1788 by Abbé Duchenin into the form seen today. The tower was renovated in 1855, when French marines presented its clock. It was renovated again in 1956 and 2010. On 19 December 2023 it was made a Minor Basilica, the first in North Kerala's region.

The statue and the feast

One tradition says the statue of St Teresa came on a ship that stopped at Mahe and would not move on; another says fishermen caught it in their net. The feast runs from 5 to 22 October each year, with the 14th and 15th the main days. People from all over Kerala and neighbouring Karnataka and Tamil Nadu take part, whatever their religion.

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  Shrine Basilica Dedicated to St Teresa of Ávila.
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  Clock tower Clock given by French marines.
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  October feast Main days 14 and 15 October.