ABSTRACT
In analyzing recent shrinal revivals in Chennai, it is clear that the local Catholic administration has in the past maintained a minimalist approach in acknowledging and perpetuating St. Thomas’s religious legacy. Only within the last ten years has the Church in Chennai developed new strategies to actively market and revive devotion to St. Thomas at his associated sites. It has done so with the intention of educating both local and global audiences about St. Thomas’s religious and historical worth to Christianity in India. Additionally, the Chennai Church has taken steps to shape Tamil Catholic identity around the person of St. Thomas by emphasizing the Apostle’s intimate connection with the region.
