St Philomena's Church, Mysore

St Philomena's Church (also known as St Joseph's Cathedral). 1930s. Ashoka Road, Mysore. [West façade]

St Philomena's Church, the largest church in South India, was clearly inspired by Cologne Cathedral; but who actually designed it? Afried Raman's guide, details of which are given below, simply attributes it to the Bishop of Mysore, the Rev. Rene Feuga (in other sources "Feuge"). Elsewhere "the French architect Daly" is cited ("St Philomena's Church"). Could this have been a relative of the famous César-Denis Daly (1811-93)?

What is certain is that this soaring neo-Gothic structure is unexpected in this context. "In a city whose chief charm lies in its buildings which are often eclectic in their mixture of styles the St Philomena's Church stands out sharply in contrast" (Raman 78) — Jacqueline Banerjee.

Photograph kindly provided by Ipshita Banerji. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL or cite it in a print document.]

References

Raman, Afried (compiler). Bangalore; Mysore. Hyderabad: Orient Longman, 1994.

"St Philomena's Church" (A "Maps of India" site). Web. Viewed 20 August 2010.

Last modified 19 August 2010