St. Philomena's Cathedral, Mysuru

Formally dedicated to St. Joseph and St. Philomena, this cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Diocese of Mysore. Work on the present building began in 1933 and it was raised in 1936 under Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV, replacing a church built on the site in 1843. Its Neo-Gothic design takes its cue from Cologne Cathedral, and its spires make it one of the tallest churches in Asia.

The cathedral is named after St. Philomena, a young martyr whose remains, those of a girl of no more than 14, were found in the Catacombs of Priscilla in Rome in 1802. Tiles beside them carried a jumbled Latin inscription that, once rearranged, wished peace to Filumena, and a vessel of dried blood found in the tomb was taken as a sign of martyrdom.