Royapuram

Mater Dolorosa Church

A Brief History
This Church was originally St. Peter's Anglo-Indian Mixed Primary School. In 1905, Archbishop of Madras Most Rev. Joseph Colgan DD gave this building for the use of the Presentation Nuns of George Town. When they shifted their quarters to a bungalow nearby, the building fell vacant. The Anglo-Indian Community of St. Peter's especially the elderly, found it very difficult to sit on the floor. So, they requested Archbishop Colgan, to convert the school into a Church for Anglo-Indians. Permissions was granted and a renovated building erected with pews inside. It was dedicated to 'Our Lady of Sorrows'. The first Parish Priest was Fr. Hood. During the 1937-1942, when Fr. Cronin was the Parish Priest of this Church, he replaced the old pews with solid teak wood pews contributed by the Anglo-Indian parishioners. He raised Rs. 8,000 and his successor Fr. Schuppe raised another Rs. 3,000 through a fete, and invested the total amount in constructing a hall called the Fathima Hall, which serves both the Anglo-Indians and Tamil parishioners.