Rev. Fr. Giacomo Fenicio (1558 - 1632), also known as Arthunkal Veluthachan, Jacomo Fenicio or Jacob Fenicio was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

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

priest, scholar,

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, and missionary in

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 ...

. He lived in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

as a priest and missionary from 1584 to 1632. He was one of the first Europeans who researched and authored scholastic literature about

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

. He was popular known among Christians 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 ...

and known as Arthunkal Veluthachan or ''fair skinned father'' of

Arthunkal Arthunkal is a coastal town and a major pilgrim centre in the south Indian state of Kerala. It is 40 kilometre south of Kochi, Cochin city and 21 kilometre north of Alappuzha, Alleppey town. It is a rapidly developing satellite town of Kochi. A ...

. Fenicio had significant interest in and knowledge of Hindu culture, and he studied the South Indian martial art of

Kalaripayattu Kalaripayattu (), also known simply as Kalari, is an Indian martial art that originated on the southwestern coast of India, in what is now Kerala, during the 3rd century BCE. Etymology Kalaripayattu is a martial art which developed out of co ...

. Manu S. Pillai writes that Fenicio represented Portuguese colonial interests at the Hindu court in Calicut, where he converted the nephew of the rajah as part of an

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ...

plot.

Personal life

Fenicio was born in

Capua Capua ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, located on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etruscan ''Capeva''. The ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in 1558. He arrived in India in 1582 and spent the next 48 years in South India. He became the second

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

St. Andrew's Basilica, Arthunkal St. Andrew's Basilica, Arthunkal is a basilica located in the village of Arthunkal in Alappuzha district, Alappuzha, Kerala, India. It was constructed by Portugal, Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century. The grand annual feast of St Sebast ...

after the death of the first vicar, Fr. Gasper Pius, who built the church. Fenicio was well-known for his tolerance towards other religions. One of the great things is the establishment of the confraternity-visionary community in the church in 1585. Fenicio died in

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 1632.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenicio, Giacomo 1558 births 1632 deaths 16th-century Italian Jesuits 16th-century Indian Jesuits Roman Catholic missionaries in India Jesuit missionaries in India People from Capua Italian emigrants to India Indian people of Italian descent Christianity in Kerala Christian clergy from Kochi

Personal life

See also

References