St. Stephen's Church is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Stephen, located in the village of Kombuthurai in the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, India. The church was built by St. Francis Xavier in May 1544. It was abandoned by the Jesuits until 1983. The church was taken care of by a people called the "Patangatins/Pattamkattins", according to the wishes of St. Francis Xavier, who believed that they could take care of the work of Christianity in Thoothukudi as written in his letters.

Miracles in Kombuthurai

The first miracle in Kombuthurai which is also the first miracle of St. Francis Xavier in pearl fishery coast occurred in 1542, when St. Francis Xavier first visited the village. A Patangati / Pattamkatti lady was suffering from labor for nearly three days. He baptized her and her family and within a short time, she delivered a child. Due to this miracle, the whole of this village along with its headmen and prince of the land converted to Christianity. Since then he visited the village numerous times. The second miracle is believed to be the greatest miracle that Francis Xavier ever performed. A boy named Matthew drowned in the well which is called well of miracle, or well of baptism by the Patangati / Pattamkatti, and was brought into the church just before mass, and through the prayer of the saint, he was revived from death

Other facts on this church

Occupation: Fishing

List of Parish Priests

Footnotes