| St. Thomas Mount | |
| Native Name: | பரங்கிமலை (Parangimalai) |
| Native Name Lang: | ta |
| Settlement Type: | Neighbourhood |
| Pushpin Map: | India Chennai#Tamil Nadu |
| Coordinates: | 13.0078°N 80.1925°Whttps://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Parangimalai&params=13_00_28.1_N_80_11_33.0_E_type:city_region:IN-TN |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Tamil Nadu |
| Subdivision Type2: | Metro |
| Subdivision Name2: | Chennai |
| Governing Body: | St.Thomas Mount-cum-Pallavaram |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 12.92 |
| Elevation M: | 91.44 |
| Population Total: | 43795 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Demographics Type1: | Languages |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Tamil |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5:30 |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Planning agency |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | CMDA |
St. Thomas Mount (also known as Parangimalai) is a small hillock in the Chennai district of Tamil Nadu, India, near the neighbourhood of Guindy and close to Chennai International Airport. By extension, it is also the name of the neighbourhood surrounding the hillock.
The neighbourhood is served by the Chennai Metro and the St. Thomas Mount railway station, on the South line of the Chennai Suburban Railway.[2] [3] The Chennai MRTS is also planned to be extended to reach the area in 2026.[4]
The area is closely associated with local traditions. According to Hindu tradition, the sage Bhringi resided and meditated on the hillock in his quest to see Shiva. The locality thus came to be known as Bhringi malai, or "the hill of Bhringi", which over time morphed into "Parangimalai". It is also said that this connects several other regions in the city with the origin of their names. For instance, the place where he laid his pitcher, known in Tamil as kindi while performing worship, has now come to be known as "Guindy".[5]
According to Christian traditions, the hill is the site where St. Thomas the Apostle was martyred in 72 AD after being struck with a spear.[6] In 1523, the Portuguese missionary Diego Fernandes built a small oratory on the Mount, reportedly over the foundations of an earlier church. As the number of pilgrims grew, Gaspar Coelho, the Vicar of the Church of Mylapore, laid the foundation for a larger church in 1547 and dedicated it to Our Lady of the Mount. The church is believed to have served as a lighthouse for Portuguese and Armenian ships during the 16th century.[7]
In 1802, William Lambton, the surveyor responsible for launching the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India, began his work from the plateau of St. Thomas Mount.[8] In 1830, the St. Thomas Garrison Church was built to serve British soldiers of the Madras Artillery, which was headquartered in the area since 1774.[9]
In 1962, Archbishop Louis Mathias of Madras-Mylapore oversaw the laying of an asphalt road to the summit, and by 1963, a calvary was installed atop the hill, overlooking the city.
In the state assembly elections of 1967 and 1971, there was a constituency known as St. Thomas Mount.
In 1986, Pope John Paul II visited the St. Thomas Mount Church.[10]
The St. Thomas Mount block is a revenue block in the Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu, India. As per the Census 2011, the St. Thomas Mount development block covered an area of, of which was classified as rural and as urban. The block included 121,017 household with a total population of 475,995. The sex ratio was 978.7 females per 1,000 males. The number of children in the age group 0–6 years was 55,103. Scheduled castes numbered 74,322 (15.6%) and scheduled tribes were 2.544 (0.53%). The literacy rate was 77.6%, with males at 81.3% and females at 73.9%.[11]
The following 15 rural village panchayats and part of Greater Chennai Corporation come under St Thomas Mount Panchayat Union:[12]
See main article: St. Thomas Mount National Shrine Basilica. A shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Expectation stands at the summit of St. Thomas Mount, marking the site where St. Thomas is traditionally believed to have been martyred.[13] In 2011, the shrine was formally granted "national shrine" status by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, recognising its historical and religious significance, and was designated a minor basilica in 2025.[14] [15]
A flight of 134 steps, built in 1726 and donated by Armenian merchant Coja Petrus Uscan, leads up to the summit, where 14 Stations of the Cross are positioned along the path.[16] The northern foot of the mount features a gateway of four arches, surmounted by a cross with an inscription dating it to 1547. The area also includes the St. Thomas Garrison Church at the base and the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church, east of the shrine at North Silver Street.[17] [18]
St. Thomas Mount lies within the high‑grade metamorphic belt of southern India known as the Southern Granulite Terrain (SGT), specifically the "Madras block.[19]
The dominant rock exposed at the Mount is a typical representative of the charnockite series, a hypersthene-bearing quartz–feldspar granulite characteristic of high‑grade granulite-facies metamorphism.[20]
As a result of these exposures, the rock outcrop at St. Thomas Mount has been declared a national monument by the Geological Survey of India, promoting it for study and geotourism.[21]
St. Thomas Mount has several schools and training institutions.
The 14 Stations of the Cross are positioned along the 134-step climb up the Mount.
