Collections of SaintsA disciple who asks questions, is willing to face danger and confesses the risen Jesus. Indian tradition extends the memory of his mission.
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Thomas appears in Matthew 10’s apostolic list. John calls him Didymus, meaning twin, without identifying his twin or narrating his initial calling. His story becomes clearer through his conversations and responses to Jesus.
USCCBThe Holy SeeRead in context ↓
As Jesus approaches the Jerusalem area to see Lazarus, John 11:16 presents Thomas urging the others to go, even if they die with their Teacher. This scene offers a picture of courage alongside the popular description of Thomas as a doubter.
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Thomas asks about the way in John 14:5–6. After Easter, John 20:24–29 tells of his doubts about the disciples’ report and his encounter with Jesus. He then acknowledges his Lord and God; the text does not establish that he touched the wounds.
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Thomas is named in the community in Acts 1:13. Later Christian tradition connects him with India, a connection summarised in Benedict XVI’s catechesis. This tradition matters deeply to Indian Christian identity, but its complete itinerary and chronology are not recorded in the New Testament.
USCCBThe Holy SeeRead in context ↓
Tradition places Thomas’s martyrdom in India; Chennai’s Santhome links its basilica with his tomb. Ortona reports relics brought from Chios in 1258. These two sites reflect veneration and transfer history, not two separate deaths or evidence that the entire body is at both.
Santhome Cathedral BasilicaCathedral Basilica of Saint Thomas, OrtonaRead in context ↓Thomas appears in Matthew 10’s apostolic list. John calls him Didymus, meaning twin, without identifying his twin or narrating his initial calling. His story becomes clearer through his conversations and responses to Jesus.
USCCBThe Holy SeeAs Jesus approaches the Jerusalem area to see Lazarus, John 11:16 presents Thomas urging the others to go, even if they die with their Teacher. This scene offers a picture of courage alongside the popular description of Thomas as a doubter.
USCCBThomas asks about the way in John 14:5–6. After Easter, John 20:24–29 tells of his doubts about the disciples’ report and his encounter with Jesus. He then acknowledges his Lord and God; the text does not establish that he touched the wounds.
USCCBUSCCBThomas is named in the community in Acts 1:13. Later Christian tradition connects him with India, a connection summarised in Benedict XVI’s catechesis. This tradition matters deeply to Indian Christian identity, but its complete itinerary and chronology are not recorded in the New Testament.
USCCBThe Holy SeeTradition places Thomas’s martyrdom in India; Chennai’s Santhome links its basilica with his tomb. Ortona reports relics brought from Chios in 1258. These two sites reflect veneration and transfer history, not two separate deaths or evidence that the entire body is at both.
Santhome Cathedral BasilicaCathedral Basilica of Saint Thomas, OrtonaJohn’s Gospel does not explicitly say Thomas ultimately touched Jesus’s wounds, although art often shows it. Indian martyrdom tradition and much later relic transfers differ from the biblical narrative.
These attributions follow site custodians, not biological testing of identity. The locations are a selection, not an inventory of all fragments.
The façade of Santhome Cathedral Basilica, Chennai. The church stands at the location associated with Thomas’s burial tradition; this photograph shows its exterior.
Planemad · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Photo source · Uploaded 30 April 2007 · Resized and converted to WebP.Santhome describes itself as built above the Apostle Thomas’s tomb in Mylapore, Chennai. It is a major site of the Indian Thomas tradition. A traditional burial site does not mean that the entire body remains here; relics attributed to Thomas are also reported at Ortona. Confirm access and displayed objects with the custodian.
Santhome Cathedral BasilicaCathedral Basilica of Saint Thomas, OrtonaSanthome Cathedral BasilicaSources checked: 2 October 2026
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San Tommaso Apostolo Cathedral in Ortona. The complex is the devotional location for Thomas’s relics reported by the basilica’s custodians.
Glenda Trubiano · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo source · 1 October 2013 · Resized and converted to WebP.The cathedral reports keeping Thomas’s relics in its crypt’s altar-tomb, brought from Chios in 1258. A Greek-inscribed tombstone associated with the transfer is also preserved in the crypt. The recorded movement of these objects is distinct from proving the identity of a first-century individual.
Cathedral Basilica of Saint Thomas, OrtonaCathedral Basilica of Saint Thomas, OrtonaSources checked: 2 October 2026
View place →Sources checked: 2 October 2026
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