27°11′50″N 78°00′37″E / 27.197342°N 78.010397°E
Akbar's Church | |
---|---|
Location | Kamla Nagar, Civil Lines, Agra, Uttar Pradesh 282003 |
Country | India |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Website | www.agraarchdiocese.com |
History | |
Status | Catholic Church |
Founded | 1600 |
Founder(s) | Society of Jesus |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
Administration | |
Archdiocese | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Agra |
Diocese | Diocese of Agra |
Clergy | |
Archbishop | Raphy Manjaly |
Akbar's Church[1] also known as Church of Akbar[2][3] is a Roman Catholic Church, built in 1600 by Jesuit Fathers, situated in Agra, India.[4]
Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great invited Jesuit priests from Portuguese Goa so that he could learn more about Christianity. So, Father Rodolfe Aquauiua, the Father Anthony Monserrate and the Father Francois Henriques reached Agra on 18 February 1580. Akbar learnt about Christianity and gave land to Jesuit fathers to build a church in Agra. This was the first Roman Catholic Church in the Mughal Empire. After Akbar it was his son Jahangir who donated for further expansion of the Church.[5] Khwaja Martins and Mirza Sikandar Junior too contributed for the expansion. The church was demolished by Emperor Shah Jahan in 1635, after he captured Jesuit Priests crossing religious limits of Islam and agreed to release them only if they demolish the Church. The Church was rebuilt in 1636 by the permission of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan after the pardon of Jesuits.
First Holy Mass was celebrated in the Church on 8 September 1636. In 1761, in the aftermath of the Third Battle of Panipat the church was looted by Afghan Invaders under Ahmed Shah Abdali.[6]
In 1769, the church was rebuilt by Father Wendel S.J. with the help of Walter Reinhardt, Commander of Agra Fort. Bishop Antonino Pezzoni, O.F.M. Cap. extended the church westward with the contribution from Jean Baptiste Filose in 1835.