Sarugani Sacred Hearts Church

Sarugani is a small village near Kalaiyar Kovil in the Tamil Nadu state of India. There is a famous Roman Catholic Church located here. The village is popular due to this church and the annual festival. Let me provide both the details and some historical background in this article.

This village's beautiful church is called "The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary". It was built in 1753 CE and is the first Sacred Heart Church in the country. The whole structure of the church was built as per the Portuguese architectural style. The current structure is renovated; however, the facade and the tower remain intact, and they are the only remaining original portions.

Father James de Rossi, a priest from Italy, came to Madurai and started missionary works in 1736 CE. He was very popular, and the locals called him "Chinna Savariar". He once saved the life of Chinna Marudu from the British soldiers. As a token of gratitude, the village was gifted to him, thus enabling him to build this church here.

The priest had also authored a few Tamil books. He is believed to have done some miracles, so he managed to gain a good rapport with the Ramnad King. He is believed to have accurately predicted the day his soul would leave this world.

Father Maria Louis Leveil, a priest from France, came to India. He served in India for about 60 years and spent his last few years in Sarugani. He left this world on 21st March 1973 CE. Even today, thousands of devotees of different faiths come to this church every year on the 21st of March to celebrate the life of the "People's Priest". The day is celebrated in grand manner with the procession of the portrait of the priest followed by the community feast.

The facade of the church building, which is an original work, has stucco images of the hearts of Jesus and Mary in the middle, flanked by the heavenly messengers. Below these images, Jesus Christ is found in the middle, who is surrounded by five angels, two messengers with swords, two ugly figures which probably refer the people of other faiths, and two ordinary men who are being pulled up by the angels (conveying conversion?) and two priests. The angel-like figure above Jesus has a ghost under her feet, and she holds a balance (weighing scale) in her arm.

A tall staff with the holy cross on the top is found facing towards the church.

In the church's main hall, the idol of Jesus is found in the middle; he is flanked by Mary on the right side and St.Joseph on the left. The images of Mary, Jesus on the cross, Mary holding Jesus on her lap after he was crucified, and Mary holding the cross in her arms are found in various places within the church.

The tomb of Father Leveil and where he used to pray regularly, are also located within the church complex. The tomb of Father Rossi is found in a nearby village on the banks of the river Manimutharu.

Happy travelling.