Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians, Shillong — the Art Deco cathedral
What it is
The Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians, in the Laitumkhrah area by Don Bosco Square, is where Shillong's Catholics worship. Wikipedia describes a modern church in Art Deco form, with high arches and stained glass.
Photos: ANKAN (CC BY-SA 4.0) · ANKAN (CC BY-SA 4.0) — via Wikimedia Commons, resized.
History
German missionaries of the Society of the Divine Saviour, the Salvatorians, built the first church here in 1913, a wooden building that was the first Catholic cathedral church in the Assam prefecture. A fire destroyed it on 10 April 1936, and work on the present church began that October on the same site. In 1980, the centenary of the Catholic Church in the north-east, the archbishop declared it a shrine and a pilgrimage centre.
The building
It stands on a foundation of sand, a design meant to let it rock safely in the earthquakes that strike the region. Inside, 14 terracotta Stations of the Cross, reported to have been made in Munich, line the flanks, and stained glass made in Grenoble in 1947 fills the windows. Beneath the cathedral, cut into the hillside, is the Grotto Church, and the first archbishop of the diocese is buried near the main altar.
Getting there
The cathedral is in the town, a short drive from the centre; our measured road time is in the quick facts. We have no verified opening hours or rules for visitors.
Combine it with
Ward's Lake is nearby, and the one-day plan takes both. Read things to do in Shillong.
Plans that include this
All 2 plans that stop here →
Nearby places
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Questions people ask
What is the Cathedral of Mary Help of Christians?
The seat of the Catholic Archdiocese of Shillong, in the Laitumkhrah area near Don Bosco Square. Wikipedia says the first church on the site, a wooden one built in 1913 by Salvatorian missionaries from Germany, burned down on 10 April 1936, and the present church was begun that October, described as modern Gothic but in fact Art Deco.
Why is the cathedral built on sand?
Wikipedia says the building has no direct connection with the rock beneath it: trenches were cut in the rock and half-filled with sand, so that in an earthquake the church can rock on the sand instead of cracking. The region around Shillong is prone to severe earthquakes, which is why the builders chose this foundation.
What is inside the cathedral?
High arches and stained glass windows, including a set made in Grenoble in 1947, and 14 terracotta Stations of the Cross in relief, reported to be from the old cathedral and made in Munich. A Grotto Church lies beneath it, cut into the hillside. We have no verified visiting hours, so ask locally, and dress modestly.