St. Philomena's Forane Church, popularly known as Koonammavu Church is situated in

Koonammavu Koonammavu ( ml, കൂനൻ) is a northern suburb of Kochi city which is associated in the Kochi metropolitan area. Koonammavu (Valluvally) is a census town in Kottuvally Panchayat, North Paravur Taluk, Ernakulam District, Kerala, India an ...

, a northern suburban town of

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 ...

City 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 ...

state,

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 ...

. This is one of the oldest

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

churches in India, built in 1837 AD. Even though the church is dedicated to the Virgin

Philomena Philomena ( el, Ἁγία Φιλομένα), also known as Saint Philomena or ''Philomena of Rome'' was a young virgin martyr whose remains were discovered on May 24–25, 1802, in the Catacomb of Priscilla. Three tiles enclosing the tomb bore ...

, Saint Chavara Achan's feast is celebrated in every year as the annual festival, a nine-day festival lasting from 26 December to 3 January along with Holy

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

and the

New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system to ...

. The church is also popular among non-Christians as a pilgrimage centre and this seventh Forane of Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Verapoly serves as the

Catholic 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 ...

Forane Church of 12 churches listed below. # Church of Our Lady of Velankanni, Chariyamthuruth # Christ the King Church-Christnagar, Varapuzha # St. Antony's Church, Kongorpilly, Koonammavu. # Church of Our Lady of Rosary, Maloth, Koonammavu # Church of Our Lady of Nativity, Muttinakam, Varapuzha # St. Joseph's Church, Neerikode, Alangad. # Little Flower Church, Panayikulam # Sacred Heart Church, Thevarkad, Varapuzha. # Infant Jesus Church, Thundathumkadavu, Varapuzha. # Amalolbhavamatha Church, Valluvally, Koonammavu # Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Joseph's Minor Basilica, Varapuzha # St. Antony's Church, Chennur, Varapuzha. http://www.mangalam.com/ernakulam/294439

References

External links

www.stphilomenaschurchkoonammavu.org

www.verapoly.in
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Philomena's Forane Church, Koonammavu Roman Catholic churches in Kochi Roman Catholic churches completed in 1837 Religious organizations established in 1837 1837 establishments in India 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in India

See also

References

External links