Dubois built a chapel with a thatched roof in 1803 at "Bili Akki Palli," or colloquially "Blackpally" and offered Mass there. The structure was called Kaanike Mathe Devalaya, which in Kannada means the Church of Our Lady of the Presentation. That small prayer house is the location where the basilica currently stands. When Bangalore Cantonment was established, a Mass was regularly held by Dubois and attended by both European and Indian Catholics. In 1811 Dubois built a small chapel with a rectory for priests. In 1813, with the help of the British, he modified and enhanced the chapel and renamed it the Church of the Purification of Our Lady, Blackpalli. Until recently the engraving of the year '1813' was seen in the front nave of the old church where the miraculous statue is housed.