The Archdiocese of Verapoly (, ) is a

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

ecclesiastical territory or

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, composed of

Latin Catholics of Malabar The Latin Catholics of Malabar Coast, also known as Malabar Latin Catholics or Latin Christians of Kerala ( or ) are a multi-ethnic religious group in Kerala adhering to the Roman Rite liturgical practices of the Latin Church, on the Malabar C ...

and headquartered at the city of

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

, in the south

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. The archdiocese has administrative control over the suffragan dioceses of

Kottapuram Kottappuram or Kottapuram may refer to: * Kottappuram, Kollam * Kottappuram, Kasaragod * Kottappuram, Thrissur * Kottappuram, Paravur, a village in Paravur Municipality of Kollam district {{geodis ...

, and Vijayapuram."Archdiocese of Verapoly"
''

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches that are in full communion with Rome. The website, not officially sanctioned by the Church, is run as a private pro ...

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 9 September 2017"Metropolitan Archdiocese of Verapoly"
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved 9 September 2016 The headquarters is located in

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

along the

Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regio ...

. It was originally formed as the Vicariate Apostolic of Malabar in 1657 and became a

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ...

in 1886. Verapoly is the anglicised name of

Varapuzha Varappuzha, , ( formerly known as Verapoly) is a northern suburb of the city of Kochi. It is a census town in Paravur Taluk, Ernakulam district in the Indian state of Kerala. Situated around 15 km (9 mi) from the city centre and 8&nbs ...

History

The Archdiocese of Verapoly was originally known as the Vicariate of Malabar erected from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cochin,the first catholic diocese in Kerala. It has its origin in 1657, with the arrival of

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

missionaries, most prominent among whom was the priest Joseph of St. Mary, better known as Joseph Sebastiani. They had been deputed under Hyacinth of St. Vincent as Apostolic Commissar, by

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII (; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death, in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, and he held various d ...

to effect a reconciliation of

Saint Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an Ethnoreligious group, ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Ker ...

of the Syro-Chaldaic Rite, who had seceded from the Archbishop Francis Garcia due to his over-stretched influence in the affairs of syro-chaldean eparchial province of

. The majority of them had, in 1653, revolted against the Archbishop and forsaking his authority by taking an

oath Traditionally, an oath (from Old English, Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a utterance, statement of fact or a promise taken by a Sacred, sacrality as a sign of Truth, verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths ...

for the purpose at the foot of a cross, thereafter called the Coonan Cross, situated in Mattancherry, and made their own

Archdeacon Thomas Mar Thoma I, also known as Valiya Mar Thoma (Mar Thoma the Great) and Arkkadiyakkon Thoma (Archdeacon Thomas) in Malayalam, and referred to as Thomas de Campo in Portuguese language, Portuguese, was the first native-born Malankara Metropolitan, ...

their archbishop. By the efforts of Sebastiani, a large number of seceders were brought back to the Catholic fold. Nevertheless, they refused to be under the authority of Archbishop Garcia or under any prelate of the

Jesuit Order The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 by ...

known as the "Paulists". Rome, being informed of the situation by Sebastiani in person, decided to entrust the Carmelites with the spiritual care of the Syro-Chaldaic Rite. For this purpose the Vicariate of Malabar was erected by Pope Alexander VII on 3 December 1659. Sebastiani was consecrated Titular Bishop of Hierapolis on 15 December 1659 and sent back to Malabar, with the title of Vicar Apostolic and Administrator of the Archbishopric of Cranganore. The new Vicariate eventually established its headquarters in the island of Verapoly. The conquest of Portuguese territories in Malabar and especially of Cochin in 1663 by the Dutch and the consequent expulsion of all Catholic Missionaries from the territories occupied by the Dutch and elsewhere, threatened the very existence of the Malabar Vicariate. Nevertheless, it survived under the Indian Prelate

Palliveettil Chandy Parambil Chandy (''Alexandre de Campo'' in Portuguese language, Portuguese; 1615 – 2 January 1687) was an Catholic Church in India, Indian Catholic prelate who served as Archdiocese of Cranganore, Archbishop of Cranganore from 1663 to 1687. H ...

(Alexander de Campo) whom Sebastiani had consecrated as his successor before he left Malabar in 1663. Before long Carmelites were allowed to resume their ministration which was by then extended also to the Catholics of the

who were under Portuguese protection. On 13 March 1709 by a brief of Pope Clement XI Malabar Vicariate was suppressed and the Vicariate of Verapoly took its place with Bishop Angelo Francisco as its first Vicar Apostolic. By the brief "Multa Praeclara" of Pope Gregory XVI, dated 24 April 1838, the Sees of Cranganore and Cochin which at that time included also

Quilon Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake and is 71 kilometers (44 mi) nort ...

, were annexed to the Vicariate of Verapoly which thus came to comprise the whole of Malabar. However, in 1845,

was severed from Verapoly as a Suffragan Vicariate. When by the famous apostolic letter "" of Leo XIII dated 1 September 1886, the Hierarchy of India was established, the Vicariate of Verapoly was raised to the status of an Archdiocese with Leonard Mellano of St. Louis as its first archbishop who was the 17th in the line of the Vicars Apostolic. On 19 March 1887 the Catholics of the Syriac Rite were separated from those of the Latin Church and placed under an administrator, Marcelino Bernard of St. Teresa, who was consecrated co-adjutor to Archbishop Mellano. By brief "" of Pope Leo XIII, dated 20 May 1887, the Syriac Rite Catholics were exempted from the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Verapoly and the two Vicariates of Trichur and Kottayam were erected for Syro Malabar Church (Malankara Chaldean Syrian church/St Thomas Christians/ Nazranis) with Adolpus E. Medlycott and Charles Lavigne as their Vicars Apostolic. Thus the Archdiocese of Verapoly came to consist exclusively of Latin Catholics.

Succession of Vicars Apostolic of Verapoly & Archbishops of Verapoly

*Giuseppe di Santa Maria Sebastiani (1661–1663), retired before the Dutch in 1663 *Alexander de Campo (1663–1678) * Thomas de Castro (1675–1684) *Raphael de Figuredo Salgado, 1681, retired on account of quarrels in 1694 * Custodio do Pinho (1694–1697) *Angelus Francis of St. Teresa, 1700, was in 1709 entitled "Vicar Apostolic of Cranganore and Cochin" on account of long vacancy of those sees, died 1712 *John Baptist Multedo of St. Teresa (1714–1750) *Florence of Jesus of Nazareth (1750–1773) *Francis de Sales a Matre Dolorosa (1774–1787) *John Mary of St. Thomas, 1780 (died before consecration) *John Mary of Jesus, (1784-1802 *Raymond of St. Joseph (1803–1816) *Miles Prendergast (1819–1831), resigned *Francis Xavier Pescetto of St. Anne (1831–1844) *Ludovico Martini of St. Teresa (1839–1859), resigned *Bernardino Baccinelli of St. Teresa, 1847 (1859), 1868, received archiepiscopal rank *Leonardo Mellano of St. Louis, 1868, received archiepiscopal rank 1860, became first Archbishop of Verapoly in 1887, died 1897 *Bernard of Jesus (Felipe Arginzonis y Astobiza) (1897–1918), resigned *Ángel María Pérez y Cecilia (1918–1934), resigned * Joseph Attipetty (1934–1970), died *Joseph Kelanthara (1971–1986), died * Cornelius Elanjikal (1987–1996), resigned * Daniel Acharuparambil, (1996–26 October 2009), died * Francis Kallarakal, appointed on 20 February 2010; he was assisted by

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

Joseph Karikkassery until the Auxiliary Bishop's appointment as Bishop of the Latin Catholic Diocese of Kottapuram, India, on Saturday, 18 December 2010. Term ended on 18 December 2016. *

Joseph Kalathiparambil Joseph Kalathiparambil (born 6 October 1952) is the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly. He was formerly the Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants. He also served as the Bishop ...

, appointed on 31 October 2016. The Archbishop was formally installed on 18 December 2016.

Affiliated Bishops, living

*Francis Assisi Chullikatt (Priest: 3 Jun 1978 to 29 Apr 2006) *Francis Kallarakal (Archbishop: 20 Feb 2010) *Joseph Karikkassery (Priest: 19 Dec 1973; Auxiliary Bishop: 25 Nov 2006 to 18 Dec 2010) *Alex Vadakkumthala

Suffragan dioceses

Diocese of Cochin The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cochin () is a Roman Catholic Diocese in Cochin, Kerala, Kochi, Kerala, India. A constituent of the Latin Church, the diocese was established in 1557 after the domination of the Portuguese language, Portuguese-spe ...

* Diocese of Kottapuram * Diocese of Vijayapuram

Saints and causes for canonisation

* John Vincent * Zacarias of Saint Teresa * Aurelian of the Blessed Sacrament * Eliswa Vakayil * George Vakayil * Michael Koodalloor (Theophane of Kottappuram) * Joseph Attipetty * Immanuel Lopez

References

External links

''Catholic Hierarchy''

Gig-Catholic Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly Verapoly Churches in Ernakulam district Dioceses in Kerala