The Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica (also known as കോട്ട പള്ളി / Kotta Palli) at

Fort Kochi Fort Kochi, Fort Cochin in English, Cochim de Baixo ("Lower Kochi") in Cochin Portuguese creole, is a neighbourhood of Cochin (Kochi) city in Kerala, India. Fort Kochi takes its name from the Fort Manuel of Cochin, the first European fort ...

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 ...

, is one of the nine

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

s in

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 ...

. Counted as one of the heritage

edifice A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and funct ...

s of

, this church is one of the finest and most impressive churches in India and visited by tourists the whole year round. It is a place of devotion as well as a center of historic significance, endowed with architectural and artistic grandeur and colours of the

gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

. The basilica serves as the

cathedral church A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral ...

of the

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 Archdioce ...

. It was built originally by the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

and elevated to a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

Pope Paul IV Pope Paul IV, born Gian Pietro Carafa, C.R. ( la, Paulus IV; it, Paolo IV; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death in August 1559. While serving as pap ...

in 1558, was spared by the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

conquerors who destroyed many Catholic buildings. Later the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

demolished the structure and commissioned a new building in 1887. Consecrated in 1905, Santa Cruz was proclaimed a

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 ...

in 1984.

History

Portuguese missionaries and Santa Cruz Church: 1505–1558

The history of Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica begins with the arrival of Portuguese missionaries along with the second Portuguese fleet under

Pedro Álvares Cabral Pedro Álvares Cabral ( or ; born Pedro Álvares de Gouveia; c. 1467 or 1468 – c. 1520) was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil. He was the first human in ...

on 24 December 1500. The King Unni Goda Varma Tirumulpadu (Trimumpara Raja) of the

Kingdom of Cochin The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy w ...

received them very warmly. This caused the

Zamorin of Calicut The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited by ...

to declare war against the

. However, the Portuguese army under Commander Dom

Afonso de Albuquerque Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa (; – 16 December 1515) was a Portuguese general, admiral, and statesman. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across the Indian Ocean ...

, who reached Cochin in 1503, defeated the enemies of the King of Cochin and in return he gave them permission to build a fort in Kochi. In 1505, Dom

Francisco de Almeida Dom Francisco de Almeida (), also known as the Great Dom Francisco (c. 1450 – 1 March 1510), was a Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer. He distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and later in the wars against the ...

, the first Portuguese viceroy, received permission from the Kochi

raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

to build a church edifice using stones and mortar which was unheard of at that time as the local prejudices were against such a structure for any purpose other than a royal palace or a temple. The foundation stone of the Santa Cruz church was laid on 3 May 1505, the feast day of the ''

Invention of the Holy Cross In the Christian liturgical calendar, there are several different Feasts of the Cross, all of which commemorate the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus. Unlike Good Friday, which is dedicated to the passion of Christ and the crucifixion, these ...

'', hence the magnificent edifice when completed was named ''Santa Cruz''. This church was located on the eastern side of the presen
Children’s Park, Fort Cochin
The basilica hosts the Relic of The Holy Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ for a long time. This is at the right side of the church.

Raising to Cathedral and demolition: 1558–1795

In 1558,

, raised the Santa Cruz Church to the status of a

along with the erection of the second diocese in India – the

,Diocese of Cochin erected , Original Catholic Encyclopedia

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suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

(other being

Diocese of Malacca 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 ...

) to the

Archdiocese of Goa The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Goa and Daman ( la, Archidioecesis Goanae et Damanensis, gom, Gõy ani Damanv Mha-Dhormprant, pt, Arquidiocese de Goa e Damão) encompasses the Goa state and the Damaon territory in the Konkan r ...

.Archdiocese of Goa – suffragan sees of Cochin and Malacca
/ref> Outside the church

The Dutch, who conquered Cochin in 1663, destroyed all Catholic buildings. Only the St. Francis Church and the Cathedral escaped this fate. The Dutch made the cathedral their arms storehouse. Later it fell into the hands of the British who demolished it when they took over Cochin in 1795. One of the decorative granite pillars of the destroyed cathedral is still kept as a monument at the southeastern corner of the present basilica premises.

Erection of the present-day Santa Cruz Basilica: 1886–present

About 100 years later, Bishop João Gomes Ferreira (1887–1897), a missionary and the Bishop of Cochin, took initiative to re-erect the cathedral and commenced the plan of its construction. However, it was the next bishop,

Mateus de Oliveira Xavier Dom Mateus de Oliveira Xavier (Vila de Rei, Vila de Rei, 14 October 1858 — Goa, 19 May 1929) was a Portuguese Roman Catholic Diocese of Cochin and Patriarch of the East Indies. Biography He was the son of Joaquim de Oliveira and Maria Joaquin ...

(1897–1908), who completed the edifice. The cathedral was consecrated on 19 November 1905 by Bishop Sebastião José Pereira, Bishop of Damao. Considering its antiquity, artistic dignity and historical importance, Pope John Paul II through a special Decree "Constat Sane Templum Sanctae Cruci" of 23 August 1984, raised the Santa Cruz Cathedral to the status of a basilica. Inscription near golden tower

The church has two lofty spires and a remarkably bright, white-washed exterior and a pastel-colored interior. The interiors of the church are mostly Gothic, with the main altar decorated by the famous Italian painter Fra

Antonio Moscheni Antonio Moscheni (16 January 1854 – 15 November 1905) was a Jesuit brother and painter, known best for his elaborate fresco decoration of the church of St. Aloysius College, Mangalore, India. Biography Moscheni was born in Stezzano, Provinc ...

, S.J., and his disciple De Gama of

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 ...

. Unfortunately, Fra Antonio Moscheni died here on 15 November 1905, four days before the newly built church was consecrated. The columns decorated with frescoes and murals, the seven large canvas paintings on the passion and death on the Cross, especially the painting of the

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

, modelled on the famous painting of

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

and the beautiful

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows add to the artistic grandeur of the place. The paintings that adorn the ceiling depict scenes from the

Via Crucis The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitati ...

of Christ. Kathedralbasilika Santa Cruz 2018-04-04f

Santa Cruz Basilica Cochin ceiling paintings

Milestones

1500 – Portuguese arrival The history of Santa Cruz Basilica begins with the arrival of Portuguese missionaries along with the second basilica Portuguese fleet under Pedro Álvares Cabral on December 24, 1500 AD. The Cochin King Godha Varma I received them very warmly. This caused the Zamorin of Calicut to declare war against Cochin. But the Portuguese army under Commander Dom Afonso de Albuquerque who reached Cochin in 1503 defeated the enemies of the King of Cochin and in return he gave them permission to build a fort in Cochin. 1505 – Building the first church In 1505, Dom Francisco de Almeida the first Portuguese Viceroy got permission from the Cochin Raja to build a church edifice using stones and mortar which was unheard of at that time as the local prejudices were against such a structure for any purpose other than a royal palace or a temple. The foundation stone of the Santa Cruz church was laid on May 3, 1505, the feast day of the ‘Invention of the Holy Cross’, hence the magnificent edifice when completed was named Santa Cruz. This church was located on the eastern side of the present Children's Park, Fort Cochin. 1558 – Raising to the status of a cathedral In 1558, Pope Paul IV, raised the Santa Cruz Church to the status of a cathedral along with the foundation of the Cochin diocese as the second diocese in India. Afterwards, when the Dutch conquered Cochin in 1663, they destroyed all catholic buildings. Only the St. Francis Church and the cathedral escaped this fate. The Dutch made the cathedral their arms storehouse. Later it fell into the hands of the British who demolished it when they took over Cochin in 1795. One of the decorative granite pillars of the destroyed cathedral is still kept as a monument at the southeastern corner of the present basilica premises. 1887 – Rebuilding the cathedral About 100 years later, Bishop D. Joao Gomes Ferreira (1887–1897), who reached Cochin, took initiative to erect the present cathedral and commenced the construction, but it was the next bishop, D. Maheus de Oliveira Xavier (1897–1909), who completed the edifice. The cathedral was consecrated on November 19, 1905, by Dom Sebastiao Jose Pereira, Bishop of Damao. 1984 – Raising to basilica Considering the antiquity, artistic dignity and historical significance, Blessed Pope John Paul II, by his Decree Constat Sane Templum Sanctae Cruci of December 19, 1984, raised the Santa Cruz Cathedral to the status of basilica. 2004 – Celebrating the quincentenary Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica is a Roman Catholic place of worship that celebrated five centuries of its existence only very recently in 2004. Rector and parish priest * Very Rev Fr Johnson Chiramel Assistant parish priests *Rev Fr Chilton George Fernandez *Rev Fr Jerin George Ethothara

Notes

References

Basilica home page

www.dioceseofcochin.org – Santa Cruz Basilica

Ernakulam Archdiocese

Diocesan directory , www.ucanews.com

External links

{{Christianity in Kerala Basilica churches in Kerala Colonial Kerala Roman Catholic churches in Kochi Roman Catholic churches completed in 1905 Religious organizations established in the 1550s 1550s establishments in Portuguese India Portuguese in Kerala British colonial architecture in India Gothic Revival church buildings in India 1505 establishments in Portuguese India Monuments of National Importance in Kerala 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in India