Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Pondicherry

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Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Pondicherry
Front view of the cathedral with Sacred Heart of Jesus statue visible.
Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Pondicherry Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Pondicherry
11°55′59″N 79°49′50″E / 11.93299°N 79.83055°E / 11.93299; 79.83055
Location	Pondicherry, Puducherry
Country	India
Denomination	Catholic
History
Former name(s)	St. Paul's Church
Authorising papal bull	1692
Status	Cathedral and Parish church
Founder(s)	Jesuits
Dedication	Immaculate Conception of Blessed Virgin Mary
Consecrated	1791
Past bishop(s)	Msgr. Michael Augustine
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architectural type	Cathedral
Style	Herrerian
Groundbreaking	1699
Completed	1791
Demolished	Three time in the years: 1693 by Dutch Around 1730 1761 by British But church was re-built at the same site every time.
Administration
Archdiocese	Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore
Parish	Cathedral Parish
Clergy
Archbishop	Msgr. Francis Kalist
Priest(s)	Rev. Fr. Alphonse Sandanam
Assistant priest(s)	Rev. Fr. Arulpushparaja

Immaculate Conception Cathedral (French: Cathédrale de l'Immaculée-Conception de Pondichéry, Tamil: தூய அமலோற்பவ அன்னை பேராலயம்) is the cathedral mother church for the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore. It is located in the Union territory of Puducherry. The church is also known as Samba Kovil^[1] (Tamil: சம்பா கோயில்), which is a phonetic corruption of "Saint Paul's Kovil" where "Kovil" means church.