The Infant Jesus Cathedral ( ml, ഇൻഫന്റ് ജീസസ് കത്തീഡ്രൽ) ( pt, Igreja do Bom Jesú) is a historic

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 let ...

church established by Portuguese during 1614, situated at Tangasseri in the city of Quilon (Kollam), India. It is now the cathedral i.e the Seat of the

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon The Diocese of Quilon is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church based in the southern Indian city of Kollam. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Trivandr ...

, the ancient and first catholic diocese of India. The Church remains as a memento of the Portuguese rule of old Quilon city.

History

The history of Infant Jesus Cathedral dates back to 1503 when Tangasseri came under the control of the Portuguese. The Portuguese who came to Quilon in 1503 led by

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 ...

made Tangasseri a well fortified city by building a fort, which was called ''Fortaleza da São Tomé'' (known as St. Thomas Fort).

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 ...

established a church, a college(São Salvador College), a printing press(São Salvador seminary Press), and a religious study centre at Tangasseri during his visits in 1544 and 1549. In 1614, the Portuguese established the Infant Jesus church in its present location. Bischof Valerga Grabplatte

Later in 1661,

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 ...

gained control of Tangasseri and started deteriorating churches and other structures built by Portuguese. But in 1789, the

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

missionaries, who have arrived Quilon renovated this church and named it the ''Bom Jesu Church''. In 1838 when Malabar Vicariate was erected with Verapoly as headquarters, Quilon was joined to it. Tangasseri retained its pivotal position in

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