Country India District Thoothukudi | State Tamil Nadu Time zone IST (UTC+5:30) | |
Periathalai is a village situated in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu, Southern India. It is located 26 kilometers from Thiruchendur and 60 kilometers from Kanyakumari, on the Thiruchendur and Kanyakumari coastal route. With a population of more than 10,000, this village is one of the biggest village in south Tamil Nadu. Most of the people of Village are Roman Catholic Christians.
Earlier it was well known as Thanga Thalai (Golden Village).
Brief history
During his ministry in the Pearl Fishery Coast, St. Xavier came to Periathalai several times. He was concerned about the welfare of the people of Periathalai; He taught them catechism and built a thatched church. Fr. Henri Antriquez who succeeded St. Xavier in the place of the old thatched church built a bigger church with clay and roofed that with palm leaves. This church had St. John as the patron saint. The Chiefton of Vijayapathi named Asiriya Perumal set fire to this church in 1597. But, it was rebuilt in 1603. Fr. John Pereira, a Jesuit Priest, who took charge of Periathalai as parish priest in 1635, laid foundation for a new church considering the growing population. For the new church which was completed in 1639, St. Stephen also was made as another patron saint. The ancient church began to deteriorate, People wanted to build a new church and Bishop Roche laid foundation for it. However, it took a long time before Fr. Dasan Dalmeida could actually start the work for the new church on the 13 th of November 1963 . This triangular shaped church was consecrated and inaugurated for worship by Bishop Ambrose on the day of the Pentecost, that is on the 14 th of May 1978 . The old church was totally destroyed and in that place is built a Wedding Hall.
Patron Saint: St. John and St. Stephen
Feast of the: Sunday after the feast of St. John
Side Chapels: