ST. JUDE’S SHRINE
In colonial times, Jhansi was an important cantonment, which was established in 1842. To fulfil the spiritual needs of their troops, the British administration set about establishing churches in the town. Situated in the Civil Lines area, St Jude’s shrine was dedicated to St Jude by Father Francis Xavier Fenech, the first Bishop of Jhansi. Fenech, who originally hailed from Malta, spent six years in India before he was posted in Jhansi in April 1929. He was stationed here to develop this territory into a diocese, which is a district under the care of a bishop. Jhansi became a diocese in 1954 and Fenech its Bishop.
Fenech had made a promise to St Jude – one of the 12 Apostles or key disciples of Jesus Christ. As per that promise, in 1947, he built a temporary chapel dedicated to St Jude. A marble tablet serves as the priest’s gravestone inside the church, where he is buried.
Distance from Shatam Jeeva
8.5 km
