The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cochin (Latin: Dioecesis Coccinensis) is a Roman Catholic Diocese of the Latin Rite in Cochin, Kerala, India. It was established in 1557 after the domination of the Portuguese-speaking missionaries. The diocese is a suffragan church to the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman and serves the people of Malabar. It is under the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Latin Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly.
The diocese is situated with the Arabian Sea in the west, the Archdiocese of Verapoly in both north and east, and the Diocese of Alleppey in the south. The Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica in Fort Cochin is the diocese's cathedral where the Diocesan Administrator resides. The current administrator is Msgr. Shaiju Pariyathusherry after the retirement of Joseph Kariyil, the Bishop emeritus in 2024.
The early Christian missionaries arrived from Portugal to India in 1550, and started the pioneer Portuguese mission in the country while the christians in Cochin became practicing the Latin Rite. St. Francis Xavier often visited the land of Cochin, where he offers the holy mass at the St. Francis Church which lies the body of Vasco da Gama buried in 1524.[3] The Order of the Franciscans built a monastery in 1518 and two others of the Jesuits Order in 1550 and 1561. In 1553 the Dominicans sisters started a College and Monastery in Cochin, and before 1557, publication began and book printing began in Cochin. The Society of Jesus was then founded by Father Balthazar Gago, S.J. in 1550 and 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. Following the rising of the land, Pope Leo X, in 1514 erected the Diocese of Funchal, and in 1534, the Diocese of Goa which was joined by the people in Cochin. The diocese of Cochin was elected by Pope Paul IV on 4 February 1557, in his decree "Pro Excellenti Praeeminentia"[3] for the two new suffragan dioceses (the other being Diocese of Malacca).[4][1] After its erection as a diocese, it was the second and preceded southern and eastern India, Burma, and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). It was later reorganized following the Concordat of 23 June 1886, between Leo XIII and King Luiz of Portugal.
Before the missionaries, people of Malabar practiced Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Three out of the eight Franciscan friars, who sailed from Lisbon to India died in the 1500 masacre in Calicut. The survivors then settled at Cochin and from there began the foundation of the Diocese of Cochin. They also received support from other missionaries working from the city which was a centre. Vasco da Gama, a messenger from Portugal who had arrived at Cochin accepted the writings of the early converted Christians for the King of Portugal. The Syrian Bishop of those Christians promised obedience to the pope through the Franciscan missionaries and two Nestorian priests, who later accompanied Gama to Lisbon en route for Rome. The pioneer priests of the diocese, Franciscans João d'Elvas and Pedro d'Amarante until 1507, preached the Gospel at Vypeen, Palliport, and Cranganore. Father Vincent de Lagos established the College of Cranganore in 1540 to train the Nestorian Christians.
The Papal Bull of Pope Paul IV, which was used earlier in erecting the diocese was also utilised in raising the collegiate church of the Holy Cross, and the parish church of Cochin to a cathedral of the diocese with the first Bishop of Cochin, a Dominican Father Jorge Tremudo. In 1577, Brother João Gonsalves, S.J. was engraved at Cochin for the first time, thus, outlined the first Malealam book Outlines of Christian Doctrine, which was written in Portuguese by St. Francis Xavier to aid children. Cochin was taken on 6 January 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, etc, were razed to the ground. The church of St. Francis of Assisi, belonging to the Franciscan monastery was spared by the conquerors and converted for their religious use. After the English overthrew the Dutch, they kept the church which was turned into a merchandise to serve as a witness to the past four centuries, as well as an existing oldest church in India.[3]
The Diocese Of Cochin is blessed with fifty one independent parishes with resident priests under six ecclesiastical districts as follows
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.[7]
The Diocese of Cochin preceded jurisdiction expanding from Cananore to Cape Comorin and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) on the west Coast and the entire India East coast including Burma. The first bishop of Cochin was Dom George Temudo (1557–1567). He encroached the support of Raja of Cochin in order to sail for the establishment of educational institutions. Joseph Kureethara, the 33rd Bishop consecrated on 21 December 1975, started to form a Corporate Educational Agency for the Diocese of Cochin inline with the Kerala Educational Acts and Rules. On April 11 1979 Kureethara after sending orders, began the Corporate Educational Agency which started functioning from 1 April 1981.[8]
1558, 4 de Fevereiro, Roma – Bula Pro excellenti praeeminentia, pela qual Paulo IV instituiu a diocese de Cochim, desmembrando o seu território da então criada arquidiocese de Goa e concedendo ao rei de Portugal o direito de padroado e de apresentação do bispo da nova diocese.
