The St. Xavier's Church is a

Roman 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 ...

run by the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Neyyattinkara The Roman Catholic Diocese of Neyyattinkara ( la, Neyyattinkaraen(sis)) is a diocese located in the town of Neyyattinkara in the Ecclesiastical province of Trivandrum in India. History * June 14, 1996: Established as Diocese of Neyyattinkara f ...

. Diocese of Neyyattinkara was formed on 5 November 1996 and prior to the formation of Diocese of Neyyattinkara, St.Xavier's Church Peyad was under the control of Metropolitan Arch Diocese of Thiruvananthapuram. The church follows

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Overview

Saint Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December 1 ...

, born Francisco de Jaso y Azpilcueta (7 April 1506,

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– 3 December 1552,

Shangchuan Island Shangchuan Island (, also known as "Schangschwan", "Sancian", "Sanchão", "Chang-Chuang", "St. John's Island" or "St John Island") is the main island of Chuanshan Archipelago on the southern coast of Guangdong, China. Its name originated from São ...

, China) was a

Navarrese Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

pioneering

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origin and co-founder of the

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

. He had visited India for missionary purpose.

Parish history

The church claims its origin to the pre-independence days. Rev.Fr.John Damisien, the father of Neyyattinkara mission, founded in 1901, founded Kundamanbhagam Mission which was under control of the parish of Palayam. Further missionary work, by Rev.Fr.Gregory O.C.D and Rev.Fr.Pascasious O.C.D resulted in the beginning of the church's construction in 1904 at Kundamanbhagam. Missionaries of Carmelite belonging to the Asters Province in Belgium helped. Though the region was remote, the feast of St. Sebastian attracted believers. Furthermore, records reveal that Dr. Alosious Maria Benzigar, the Bishop of Quilon visited Kundamanbhagam mission and upon his suggestion the missionaries rebuilt the church of St. Francis Xavier at Peyad. It bears a combination of Greek and Roman architecture and has a Church Bell brought by Fr.Pascasious O.C.D from Belgium and it is one among the 44 Church Bells belonging to the same make. The Missionaries from Belgium selected an engineer from Belgium and native Kunju Contractor to complete the shrine. The present residence for the priest was built during the time of Fr. Brocard O.C.D. In those days St.Xavier Church at Peyad was known as a Partial district comprising Kundamanbhagam. As per Ora Malabaria the diocese of Thiruvananthapuram originated in 1937 July 1 with Rev.Fr.Vincent Dereire as the first Bishop of Thiruvananthapuram who established 15 High Schools, 28 Middle Schools and 68 Primary schools. File:St Xaviers church peyad Belgium bell.jpg, The Belgium Bell File:St Xaviers church peyad Main Alter.jpg, The Main Altar

Overview

Parish history

References

See also