St. Peter's Church, Royapuram

St. Peter's Church in Royapuram, Chennai, is a Gothic Catholic church begun in 1825 and consecrated in 1829. It was built by the Gurukula Vamsha Varnakula Mudaliars, boatmen who guided ships to the dock for the East India Company, with help from the Secretary of the Marine Board. The community had lived at Fort St. George and Chepauk before being given land here. Royapuram is believed to take its name from the church, Royappar being the Tamil form of Peter.

The community later split between supporters of the Irish Mission and the Goans, and in 1848 the latter built St. Antony's Church opposite. Lawsuits closed the church from 1935 to 1949. Images of St Peter, St Anthony, Christ and Chindadri Matha stand in glass cases on the walls, and residents believe the compound saved many lives in the 1962 cyclone. Feasts honour St Peter on 29 June and Our Lady of Voyage from late August to 8 September, with a car procession through the streets.