Immaculate Conception Cathedral - 300 Year old Church

Immaculate Conception Cathedral was built for the worship of Roman Christians living in Pondicherry. It was constructed much similar to the Immaculate Conception Cathedral of France. At that time, when the Jesuit Fathers came here as missionaries in 1689, they prepared this land to build a church, In 1692, with the financial help of Louis XIV, king of France, they erected a church. But intentionally, it was demolished by the Dutch militants the following year. A second construction was quickly built in 1699 but that also could not last long. They took the years from 1728 to 1736 to build their third try, which was razed to the ground by the British in 1761. It was the year 1765, when the fourth try was made. In June 1791, the construction work was finished and it was consecrated by Bishop Champenois. The Bell tower was built later. The choir loft was added in 1905. The Sanctum was remodelled in the year 1970. The esplanade in front of the Cathedral was redefined in 1987, to allow people to take part in liturgical ceremonies and special functions held outside. This 300 year old church is also the residence of the bishop.