Roman Catholic Diocese of Cochin

The history of the Diocese of Cochin[3][4] begins with the arrival of the Portuguese missionaries in India. These neo-apostles reached Kappad near Kozhikode on 20 May 1498, along with Vasco da Gama.

The diocese of Cochin was established by the papal bull pro excellenti praeeminentia issued by Pope Paul IV on 4 February 1558 as one of two new suffragan dioceses (the other being Diocese of Malacca) to the Archdiocese of Goa.[5]The diocese was erected and constituted a suffragan of the Diocese of Goa, of which it had previously formed a part, by the Bull "Pro excellenti praeeminentia" of Paul IV, 4 February, 1557 (cf. Bullarium Patronatus Portugalliae Regum, I, 193). It was later reorganized according to the Concordat of 23 June, 1886, between Leo XIII and King Luiz of Portugal and the Constitution "Humanae Salutis Auctor" of the same pope, 1 September, 1886. It is suffragan to the patriarchal See of Goa (cf. Julio Biker, Collecçao de Tractados, XIV, 112-437). The diocese consists of two strips of territory along the sea-coast, the first about fifty miles long, by eight in its broadest part, the second thirty miles in length. There are two important towns, Cochin and Alleppi (Alapalli) in which the higher educational and charitable institutions of the diocese are situated.

The chief religions professed in Malabar at the arrival of the Portuguese were: Hinduism, Christianity (the Christians of St. Thomas or Nestorians), Islam, and Judaism, the last represented by a large colony of Jews. From these the Catholic community was recruited, mostly from the Nestorians and the Hindus. Islam also contributed a fair share, especially when Portugal was supreme on this coast; among the Jews conversions were rare. To Portugal belongs the glory of having begun regular Catholic missionary work in India, and Cochin has the honour of being the cradle of Catholicism in India. The first missionaries to India were eight Franciscan friars, who set sail from Lisbon on the fleet of Pedro Alvarez Cabral, 9 March, 1500: Father Henrique de Coimbra, Superior; Fathers Gaspar, Francisco da Cruz, Simao de Guimaraens, Luiz do Salvador, Masseu, Pedro Netto, and Brother João da Vitoria. Three of them were slain at Calicut in the massacre of 16 November, 1500. The survivors arrived at Cochin on or about the 26th of that month, and settled there (except the superior, who went back with the fleet to obtain more help for the mission), thus laying the foundation of the Diocese of Cochin (Histor. Seraf. Chron. da Ordem de S. Francisco na Provincia de Portugal, III, 489, 494, 495). They were followed by large contingents of zealous missionaries, who worked from the city of Cochin as a centre. The harvest of souls was rich, the Christians multiplied along the coast and in the interior, and in course of time a bishop was assigned to them

The Nestorian Christians in the vicinity of Cochin naturally attracted the attention of the missionaries, and Fathers Simao de Guimaraens and Luiz do Salvador were soon occupied in refuting their errors and reforming their discipline and customs (Hist. Seraf., III, 497). These two missionaries were the pioneers of the Faith among the Nestorian Christians. Members of the same order continued this missionary work till the middle of the sixteenth century, when these missions were handed over to the Jesuits, who continued the good work with such earnestness and zeal that most of the Nestorian Christians were converted before 1600. The chief public record of their conversion is to be found in the Process of the Synod of Diamper (of Udiamperur), held in June, 1599, by Alexio de Menezes, Archbishop of Goa, Metropolitan and Primate of the East ("Bull. Patron. Por. reg.", a collection of papal and royal documents pertaining to the Portughese missions in India, App. tom. I, 147 sqq.; see also "Subsidium ad Bull. Patr. Por.", Alleppi, 1903). In December, 1502, the Nestorian or Syrian Christians (they used the Syrian language in their liturgy) presented to Vasco da Gama, who had arrived at Cochin, the sceptre of their former kings, and applied to him for assistance against their Mohammedan neighbours. Gama formally accepted the sceptre in the name of the King of Portugal. The Syrian bishop of those Christians promised obedience to the pope through the Franciscan missionaries and two Nestorian priests accompanied Gama to Lisbon en route for Rome. Thus began the protectorate of the Portuguese over the Syrian Christians, a protectorate which lasted for 160 years (cf. João de Barras, "Asia", Dec. I, bk. V, ch. viii; also "Historia Serafica"). Till 1542 the Franciscans were the only regular missionaries in India, though they had the cooperation of some secular priests, as Father Pedro Gonsalves, Vicar of Santa Cruz church in the city of Cochin, and father Miguel Vaz, a zealous preacher of the Faith, as well as of some isolated members of other religious communities, who had come out as chaplains to the fleets ("Commentarios do Grande Affonso d'Albuquerque", 3d ed., 1774, I, ch. v, 19-20), and "Ethiopia Oriental", II, bk. II, ch. i).

Among the pioneer priests of Cochin mention should be made of the Franciscans João d'Elvas and Pedro d'Amarante, who till 1507 preached the Gospel at Vypeen, Palliport, Cranganore, and other important places; Father Manuel de S. Mathias with his eleven companions, who laboured for the conversion of the pagans at Porroead, Quilon, Trivellam, and elsewhere. Father Vincent de Lagos, who in 1540 established the college of Cranganore to train the Nestorian Christians in the purity of Catholic Faith, a college highly praised by St. Francis Xavier, and the first built in India. In 1542 it had eighty students (Amado, Hist. da Egreja em Portugal e colonias, Vol. VII, pt. II, 117-21).

After St. Francis Xavier's arrival in India, 6 May, 1542, the Society of Jesus quickly spread over India, and the members were always most successful in the missions under their charge. St. Francis often visited Cochin, where the citizens gave him the church of Madre de Deus, and asked him to establish in the city a residence of the Society. It was accordingly founded by Father Balthazar Gago, S.J., in 1550. In the same year Father Nicolao Lancelot, S.J., built the residence and college of Quilon, and Affonso Cipriano, S.J., the residence of Mylapore, soon after the residence and college of Punicail were established, and the residence of Manar. In 1560 the King of Portugal built for the Society of Jesus the college of Cochin, and in 1562 a novitiate of the Society was established there. In 1601 the Jesuit Province of Malabar was founded, and Cochin was made the residence of the provincial. Among the early Jesuits must be mentioned in addition to St. Francis Xavier, foremost of missionaries, Fathers Mansilha, Criminal, B. Nunes, H. Henriques, F. Peres, F. Rodrigues; Brothers Adam Francisco, N. Nunes. Later, the Dominicans, Augustinians, and other orders followed the Society of Jesus to India. The Dominicans built their monastery and college at Cochin in 1553; some years later their example was followed by the Augustinians, and still later by the Capuchins. Cochin thus became the stronghold of the Faith, and it was the missionaries of Cochin who carried the Gospel throughout all Southern India and Ceylon, everywhere establishing missions, and building churches, charitable and educational institutions, all of which were endowed by the kings of Portugal.

Apart from the heroic zeal of the priests, the most powerful element in the propagation of the Faith was the protection the Portuguese Government always accorded to the converts. It provided them with good situations, employing them in civil offices, freed them the molestations of their masters, elevated them in the social scale, exempted them from the operation of Hindu law, appointed for them a judicial tribunal composed of Catholics, which in rural districts was presided over by the local priest. It induced the rajahs to treat the converts kindly, and obliged them to allow their converted subjects all the civil rights, e.g. of inheritance, which their Hindu relatives enjoyed. ("Collecçaode Tractados", treaties made with the rajahs of Asia and East Africa, passim in the first thirteen vols; also "Archivo Portuguez Oriental" Nova Goa, 1861, Fasc. III, parts I and II passim; "Oriente Conquistado", Bombay reprint, 1881, I, II, P. Jarric, S.J., "Thesaurus Rerum Indicarum", Cologne, 1615, I, III, on the Malabar Missions of the Society.)

The above-mentioned Bull of Paul IV, by which the diocese was constituted, raised the collegiate church of the Holy Cross (Santa Cruz), the parish church of Cochin, to the dignity of cathedral of the diocese, and established therein a chapter consisting of five dignitaries and twelve canons. At the same time the pope gave the patronage of the new diocese and see to the kings of Portugal (Bull. Patr. Port. Reg., I, 194).

Until 1506 Hindu law, which was rigorously observed, forbade the use of lime and stone in other constructions than temples. Hence the early Portuguese, to avoid displeasing the rajah, built their houses of wood. Finally the viceroy, Francisco de Almeida, induced the Rajah of Cochin to permit him the use of lime and stone, and on 3 May, 1506, the first stone for the fortress and city was laid by the viceroy with great pomp. It was the feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross, which thus became the patronal feast of the city, and gave to the parish church its title. The church of the Holy Cross (Santa Cruz) was begun in, or rather before, 1506, for in 1505 we find Portuguese soldiers contributing towards the construction of the church of Cochin 1000 xerafins (about $150 a large sum four hundred years ago), the result of an auction of the rich booty of a naval combat (Gaspar Correa, "Lendas da India", I, 522; II, 182). Some years later this church was raised to collegiate rank, endowed by the king, and provided with a vicar and six beneficed ecclesiastics. It was a magnificent buildings the mother church of the ancient Diocese of Cochin, which the Malabar, Coromandel and Fishery boasts, and Ceylon once obeyed and under whose teaching and discipline they flourished. There are now not less than eleven bishoprics in the territory of the original Diocese of Cochin. The first Bishop of Cochin was Dominican, Father Jorge Tremudo, an illustrious missionary on this coast. The Brief "Pastoralis officii cura nos admonet" of Gregory XIII, 13 Dec., 1572, permitted the Bishop of Cochin, on occasion of the vacancy of the See of Goa, to take possession of that see and administer it till the Holy See provided for the vacancy. This is why many bishops of Cochin were appointed archbishops of Goa.

In 1577 Brother João Gonsalves, S.J., engraved at Cochin, for the first time, the Malealam type, from which was printed the first Malealam book, "Outlines of Christian Doctrine", written in Portuguese by St. Francis Xavier for the use of children. In 1578 Fr. João de Faria, S.J., engraved at Punicail the Tamil type, with which the "Flos Sanctorum" was printed in Tamil for the Fishery Coast (Paulinus a S. Bartholomaeo, "India Orient. Christiana" Rome, 1794, 179 sqq.; "Oriente Conquistado", Vol. I, Pt. I, Cong. I, Div. I, section 23).

Cochin was taken, 6 Jan. 1663, by the Dutch, after a siege of six months. The city was reduced in size; the clergy were expelled; the monasteries and colleges, bishop's palace and 2 hospitals, 13 churches and chapels, were razed to the ground. The church of St. Francis of Assisi, belonging to the Franciscan monastery was spared by the conquerors and converted to their religious use. When the English expelled the Dutch, 20 October, 1795, they kept this church for the same purpose; it stands today a witness to the events of the past four centuries, and is considered the oldest existing church in India. The magnificent cathedral was turned by the Dutch into a warehouse for merchandise. In 1806 it was blown up by the English.

 One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Diocese of Cochin". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

• Pope: Francis
• Bishop: sede vacante
• Diocesan Administrator: Very Rev Msgr Shaiju Pariathussery[2]
• Judicial Vicar: Very Rev Fr Antony Kattiparambil [2]
• Chancellor: Very Rev Dr Johney Xavier Puthukkattu[2]
• Procurator: Very Rev Fr Maxon Kuttikattu[2]
• Minor Seminary Rector: Very Rev Dr Antony Santhosh Veluthedath[2]

• 
  Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica Fort Kochi (Estd- 1505)
• 
  Our Lady Of Life Church Mattancherry (Estd- 9th Centaury)
• 
  St Louis Church Mundamveli (Estd-9th Centaury)
• 
  St Lawrence Church Edacochin (Estd- 9th Centaury)
• 
  Our Lady Of Hope Church Vypeen (Estd- 605)
• 
  St Sebastian's Church Chellanam (Estd -1832)
• 
  St Sebastian's Church Thoppumpady. (Estd-1833)
• 
  St George Church Pazhangad(Estd- 1869)
• 
  St Peter's Church Kumbalanghi(Estd- 1875)
• 
  St Augustine's Church Aroor (Estd-1901)

• 
  St Mary's Forane Church Thankey
• 
  Our Lady Of Assumption Church Poomkavu
• 
  Holy Cross Church( Koonan Kurisu) Mattancherry
• 
  Our Lady Of Velankanni Shrine Maruvakad
• 
  Tomb Of Msgr Lawrence Puliyanath
• 
  St Joseph's Miraculous Shrine Kannamalay

The Diocese Of Cochin is blessed with fifty one independent parishes with resident priests under six ecclesiastical districts as follows

FIRST DISTRICT – FORT COCHIN FORANE
IMAGE	NAME OF THE PARISH	YEAR ESTABLISHED
	Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica Fort Kochi	1505
	Our Lady Of Life Church Mattancherry	9th century
	Our Lady Of Hope Church Vypeen	1605
	SS Peter and Paul Church Amaravathy	1857
	Holy Family Church Nazareth	1901
	Stella Maris Church Willington Island	1955
	St Joseph's Bethlehem Church Chullicakal	1974
	St Mary's Church Kochery	2016
SECOND DISTRICT – KANNAMALY FORANE
	St Antony's Forane Church Kannamaly	1873
	St Louis Church Mundamvely	9th century
	St Sebastian's Church Chellanam	1832
	St Joseph's Church Cheriyakadavu	1968
	St Francis Assisi Church Kattiparambu	1980
	St Thomas Apostle Church Santhome	1990
	St John The Baptist Church Anjilithara	2019
THIRD DISTRICT – EDAKOCHI FORANE
	St Lawrence Church Edacochin	9th century
	St Sebastian's Church Thoppumpady	1833
	Santa Cruz Church Perumpadappu	1965
	St Joseph's Church Chirackal	1965
	St Mary's Church North Edakochi	1978
	St Lawrence Church Palluruthy	1986
	St Thomas More Church Palluruthy	1991
	St Joseph's Church Maduracompany	2012
	Santa Maria Church Perumpadappu	2018
FOURTH DISTRICT – KUMBALANGHI FORANE
	St George Church Pazhangad	1869
	St Peter's Church Kumbalanghi	1875
	St Joseph's Church North Kumbalanghi	1967
	Immaculate Conception Church Ezhupunna	1977
	St Sebastian's Church Neendakara	1977
	Sacred Heart Church Kumbalanghi	1994
	St Martin De Porres Church Kallencherry	1996
	Holy Maris Church Azhikakam	2014
	San Jose Church Ettumkal	2014
FIFTH DISTRICT – AROOR FORANE
	St Augustine's Church Aroor	1901
	St Francis Xavier Church Eramallore	1843
	St Joseph's Church Kumbalam	1977
	St Antony's Church Arookutty	1978
	St Joseph's Church Vallethode	1986
	Our Lady Of Fatima Church Kodamthuruth
	St Mary's Church Chandiroor	2004
	St Sebastian's Church Karunyapuram	2013
	Little Flower Church Perumbalam	2013
	St Jude Church Eramallor
	Queen Of Peace Church Ezhupunna	2024
SIXTH DISTRICT – THANKEY FORANE
	St Mary's Forane Church Thankey	1832
	Our Lady Of Assumption Church Poomkavu	1860
	St George Church Arthumkal	1866
	St Francis Xavier Church Vayalar	1936
	St Sebastian's Church Areeparambu	2016
	St George Church Arasupuram	2017
	St Antony's Church Pathirapally

In 9th century there were only three parishes in West Kochi: St. Lawrence Church Edakochi, Our Lady Of Life Church Mattancherry, and St. Louis Church Mundamveli[8]

Msgr Lawrence Puliyanath, Servant of God, Diocese of

• St Francis Xavier worked in the costal belt of the diocese as a missionary,often visited the diocese.
• St John De Britto visited the diocese on his way towards his mission.
• St Joseph Vaz served the diocese as it's Vicar Genaral.
• St Devasahayam a member of the diocese during his great martyrdom.
• Venerable Matteo Ricci Ordained as a Priest in Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica Fort Kochi.
• Servant of God Lawrence Puliyanath[9] a dioceasean priest who is often called as the apostle of the poor,served in the parish of St Lawrence Church Edacochin as Assistant Vicar and Later Vicar for more that 33 years.

Colleges

• Aquinas College, Edacochin - Aided College
• Siena College Of Professional Studies - Unaided College
• Avila College Of Education - Unaided College
• Aquinas Institute Of Management Fort Cochin - Unaided College
• St Joseph's College Thoppumpady - Private College

Corporate Educational Agency

The Diocese of Cochin came into existence on 4 February 1557 having the jurisdiction extending from Canannore to Cape Comorin and Ceylon on the west Coast and the entire India East coast including Burma. The first bishop of Cochin was Dom George Temudo (1557–1567) He ruled the Diocese efficiently, settled many disputes and acted as a peace maker. During the time of Dom Temudo he could enlist excellent cooperation and support of Raja of Cochin in order to sail smoothly along with establishment of institutions. Following him the other Bishops of Cochin were establishing many social, educational and humanitarian projects together with the spiritual care of the people. Accordingly the educational institutions were started in various parts of the Diocese in connection with the parishes. All these schools were independently managed by the parish as single management. Bishop Joseph Kureethara, the 33rd Bishop of Cochin after taking charge his office as bishop of Cochin on 21 December 1975, started to form a Corporate Educational Agency for the Diocese of Cochin as per the Kerala Educational Acts & Rules. After many discussions the Diocesan Senate has decided to form a Corporate Educational Agency for the Diocese. Then on 1979 April 11th Bishop Joseph Kureethara send an application to DPI for the approval and the DPI by order no. K.Dis.10370/81/42 dated 5/7/81 approved CEA. The Corporate Educational Agency started functioning from 1 April 1981 onwards as the Bishop of Cochin being the General Manger and then entrusted his power to various priests of the Diocese as his Power of Attorney holder.[10]

• Higher Secondary Schools : 4
• High Schools : 9
• Upper Primary Schools : 2
• Lower Primary Schools : 15

Independent Management – Diocese Of Cochin

• St John De Britto Anglo Indian School, Fort Cochin

• Fatima Hospital Perumpadappu
• CULTES Perumpadappu

• Mount Carmel Petit Seminary Fort Cochin
• Holy Cross Study House Alwaye

• Light Of Cochin - Quarterly
• Verbum Domini - Weekly
• HRD Munthiricharu - Youtube Channel
• Radio Maria India - Youtube Channel