Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

created the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kannur in the

Ecclesiastical Province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United State ...

of Verapoly in India by bifurcating the Diocese of Calicut on 9 December 1998. The new Diocese consists of the

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 ...

residing in the revenue districts of

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 ...

and Kasaragod. The see was vacant from 2012 until 2014. On 1 February 2014,

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

appointed Alex Joseph Vadakumthala as the new bishop of Kannur. He was consecrated on 23 March. Diocese of Kannur comprises the territory of the civil district of

to the north of Mahé River, excluding Palloor, Chalakkara, Pandakkal and Cherukallai which belong to the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of Mahe and the territory of the civil district of Kasaragod which falls to the south of Chandragiri River. The erection of this

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, pro ...

was a historical event for Kannur which has 500 years of

Christian tradition Christian tradition is a collection of traditions consisting of practices or beliefs associated with Christianity. These ecclesiastical traditions have more or less authority based on the nature of the practices or beliefs and on the group in que ...

. The establishment of this diocese, on the auspicious occasion of the Platinum Jubilee of the Diocese of Calicut was welcomed with cheer, by the people who consider the diocese of Kannur as a gift of God to this region of India.

History

Although Christian communities existed in South and Central Kerala from the beginning of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, North Kerala known as Malabar had to wait long for the advent of the European missionaries to start their

evangelization In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

until the 16th century. It was with the advent of the Portuguese sailor,

Vasco de Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

who landed here on 20 May 1498, that the missionaries had access to this area. Fr. Pedro de Kovilaham, the first

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

who came to Malabar with Vasco de Gama died on 31 July 1498. As the Portuguese traders could not get along with the ruler of Calicut, "the Zamorin", they moved to Kannur and the "Kolathiri", king of Kannur welcomed them. The four Franciscan missionaries with Hovavo Nova, their group leader were allowed to build a

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

in Kannur. (This is the place where the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Diocese of Kannur is situated). In 1505, the Portuguese Viceroy, Francis de Almeida, established the famous fort of St. Angelos and built the church of St. James there. *Visit of St. Francis Xavier :- The archives of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in Rome testify that St. Francis Xavier, the patron of missions visited Kannur on 24 December 1542 and also on 7 November 1549. *Expansion of Malabar Mission: - Several Portuguese colonies were formed in the 16th century along the coastal belt of the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

. A church was built by Dominge Rodrigues in

Tellicherry Thalassery (), formerly Tellicherry, is a municipality, Commercial City on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district, in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahé (Pondicherry), Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kasaragod and Kodagu (Karnat ...

for the Christians there. When the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

established the Tellicherry Fort in 1708, the Jesuit fathers renovated this church. Fr.Dominic OCD in 1736 established a church in Mahe to look after the spiritual needs of the French Catholics settled there. This church came to be known "the Shrine of Mahe", or the Shrine of St. Theresa of Avila. In 1807, St. Michael's School was established for the education of boys and in 1871 St. Teresa's School for girls in Kannur was started by the

Apostolic Carmel The Sisters of the Apostolic Carmel are members of a Carmelite religious institute dedicated to female education. It was founded in the latter part of the 19th century by Mother Veronica of the Passion, O.C.D., under the guidance of her mentor ...

ites. In the 1920s Fr. Faustine Aranha, began his work among the 'Dalits' of the

Kanhangad Kanhangad () is a town, located in the Kasaragod District, state of Kerala, India. Location The area contains villages around Kanhangad town with Kasaragod as the northern border, Nileshwar, popularly known as the 'cultural town' of Kasara ...

region. *Diocese of Calicut: - In 1878 with the handing over of

South Kanara South Canara was a district of the Madras Presidency of British India, located at . It comprised the towns of Kassergode and Udipi and adjacent villages, with the capital in Mangalore city. South Canara was one of the most heterogeneous areas o ...

and Malabar region to the Jesuits of the Venice Province, the mission involvement of the area took a new turn. On 12 June 1923 some parts of Malabar which belonged to the Diocese of Mangalore were separated and the new Diocese of Calicut was established. There were about 6000 Catholics and 16 Priests, spread out in Calicut, Tellicherry, Kannur, Vythiri, and Mananthavady. There were 50 sisters in three

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

s and 12 educational institutions. The Diocese of Calicut made strides in progress under its holy and able

Prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

s Paul Perini, Leo Proserpio, Aldo Maria Patroni and Maxwell Noronha. In 1998 the Catholics increased tenfold to about 60,000. There were 169 priests, 1174 sisters in 105 convents and 245 educational institutions. *Chirakal Mission :- Under the patronage of Bishop Leo Proserpio, in 1937, Fr. Peter Caironi S.J started his mission among the natives. Marginalised community was given proper

housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether it ...

facilities,

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

and the possibility of a more human existence. Fathers John Sequeira, Joseph Taffrel S.J, James Monthanari S.J, Aloysius Del Zotto S.J, Michael Vendramin S.J had tried hard to evangelize this area. Fr. Linus Zucol S.J, who continues to work in this area has become a mission legend . These missionaries were supported by the Canossian sisters under mother Antoneitta Sala, the Deena Sevana Sabha founded by Mother Petra, the

Ursulines The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula (post-nominals: OSU), is an enclosed religious order of consecrated women that branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula, in 1572. Like the Angelines, they t ...

and the others. Consequently, we have today about 35,501 Catholics spread over 51 parishes and 21 mission stations, in the two revenue districts of Kannur and Kasaragod. *Diocese of Kannur :- The diocese of Calicut was spread out to an area of 13051 km². in six revenue districts. In the context of such an extensive area there was the need of a new diocese for the benefit of the faithful. Bishop Maxwell Noronha, in consultation with the priests, religious and the

laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...

requested the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

to establish the new diocese of Kannur. Pope John Paul II by the Apostolic Brief ''Ad Perpetuam Rei Memoriam'', dated 5 November 1998, created the Diocese of Kannur from the Diocese of Calicut. On the same day Varghese Chakkalakal who was a professor at St.Joseph's Seminary,

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...

, and a priest of the diocese of Calicut, was elected the Bishop of Kannur and the Bishop elect was consecrated on 7 February 1999 and he took charge of the diocese on 8 February 1999. The Bishop has taken as his motto "according to your will" "Daivathirumanassinu Vidheyathuvam". On Monday, 15 June 2012,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

transferred him to become Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Calicut The Diocese of Calicut ( la, Dioecesis Calicuten(sis)) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese in India. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Verapoly but depends on the missi ...

, India; he will be the

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the Diocese during the

sede vacante ''Sede vacante'' ( in Latin.) is a term for the state of a diocese while without a bishop. In the canon law of the Catholic Church, the term is used to refer to the vacancy of the bishop's or Pope's authority upon his death or resignation. Hi ...

(vacant see) period until a successor is chosen by the Pope.

Saints and causes for canonisation

* Servant of God Sr. Maria Celine Kannanaikal, UMI * Servant of God Paula Monnigmann (Petra) inadassiref name="CCBI" />

References

External links

*
''Diocese of Kannur''

{{Authority control

Christian organizations established in 1998 Roman Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 20th century Dioceses in Kerala 1998 establishments in Kerala Churches in Kannur district