The Archdiocese of Verapoly (Verapolitana) is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

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 associate ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, composed of

Latin Catholics of Malabar The Latin Catholics of Malabar Coast, aka Roman Catholics of Kerala or Malabar Latin Catholics (''Malayalam'': ലതീൻ കത്തോലിക്കർ / ലതീൻ കൃസ്ത്യാനികൾ) are a multi-ethnic religious gr ...

and headquartered at the city of

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

, in the south

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. The archdiocese has administrative control over the suffragan dioceses of

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hu ...

, Kottapuram, Sultanpet and Vijayapuram."Archdiocese of Verapoly"
''

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Catholic Churches. The website is not officially sanctioned by the Church. It is run as a private project by David M. Cheney in ...

''. 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 (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

along the

Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing m ...

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

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a t ...

in 1886. Verapoly is the anglicised name of

Varapuzha Varappuzha, , (also known by its former name 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 centr ...

History

The Archdiocese of Verapoly was originally known as the Vicariate of Malabar. It has its origin in 1657, with the arrival of

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

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 ( it, Alessandro 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, an ...

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 ethno-religious An ethnoreligious group (or an ethno-religious group) is a grouping of ...

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 Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to ...

for the purpose at the foot of a cross, thereafter called the Coonan Cross, situated in Mattancherry, and made their own Archdeacon Thomas 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 , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

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 Palliveettil Chandy also known as Parambil Chandy (''Alexander de Campo'' in Portuguese) was a bishop of the Catholic Saint Thomas Christians. He is also the first known native Indian bishop. He was the bishop of the East Syriac Rite (Chal ...

(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 (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...

, 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 "Humanae Salutis Auctor" 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. Along with this, in 1886, the diocese of Cochin was resuscitated and reconstituted with 34 Latin Churches taken from the Archdiocese of Verapoly and the Diocese of Quilon. 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 "Quod Jam Pridem" 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 Dr.Adolpus E. Medlycott and Dr.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 Custodio do Pinho (1638–1697) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Titular Bishop of ''Hierapolis in Isauria'' (1669–1697), Vicar Apostolic of Malabar (1694–1697), and Vicar Apostolic of Great Mogul (1669–1696). ''(in Latin)''

(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 Joseph Attipetty (June 25, 1894 - January 21, 1970) was the first native bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly. Early life and education Joseph Attipetty was born on June 25, 1894, as the second of five children of Matthew and R ...

(1934–1970), died * Joseph Kelanthara (1971–1986), died * Cornelius Elanjikal (1987–1996), resigned *

Daniel Acharuparambil Daniel Acharuparambil (12 May 1939 – 26 October 2009) was a Roman Catholic Indian Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly in Kerala. Ordained to the priesthood on 14 March 1966, he was named Archbishop and was consecrated on 3 ...

, (1996–26 October 2009), died * Francis Kallarakal, appointed on 20 February 2010; he was assisted by Auxiliary Bishop 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, 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 Calicut *

Diocese of Cochin The Diocese of Cochin ( la, Dioecesis Coccinensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the city of Cochin, India. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdio ...

Diocese of Kannur Pope John Paul II created the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kannur in the Ecclesiastical Province of Verapoly in India by bifurcating the Diocese of Calicut on 9 December 1998. The new Diocese consists of the Latin Catholics of Malabar residing in ...

* Diocese of Kodungallur - Kottapuram * Diocese of Vijayapuram *

Diocese of Sultanpet Roman Catholic Diocese of Sultanpet ( la, Dioecesis Sultanpetensis) is a Roman Catholic diocese consisting of Palakkad district, Kerala, India erected from the division of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Coimbatore and Roman Catholic Diocese of Cal ...

Saints and causes for canonisation

* John Vincent *

Zacarias of Saint Teresa Zacarías Salterain-Bizkarra (1887–1957), religious name ''Zacarias of Saint Teresa'', was a Discalced Carmelite Priesthood in the Catholic Church, priest. Life He was born on 5 November 1887 in Abadiño, Abadiano, Vizcaya (province), Vizcaya, S ...

* Aurelian of the Blessed Sacrament *

Eliswa Vakayil Eliswa Vakayil (Eliswa of the Blessed Virgin Mary in religion) is the foundress of the first indigenous Carmelite congregation for women in India. She was the first religious sister from Kerala, the southern most state of India; she established th ...

* George Vakayil * Michael Koodalloor (Theophane of Kottappuram) *

References

External links

''Catholic Hierarchy''

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