Saint Francis Church, in

Fort Kochi Fort Kochi ( , ; Cochin Portuguese: ''Cochim de Baixo'', , Tamil: ''Koçhé Kōtàì''), formerly also known as Fort Cochin or British Cochin or Old Kochi, is a region of Kochi city in Kerala, India. Fort Kochi takes its name from the For ...

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

, originally built in 1503, is one of the oldest European churches in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and has historical significance as a witness to the European colonial ambitions in the

subcontinent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as in the case of A ...

. The

Portuguese explorer Portuguese maritime explorations resulted in numerous territories and maritime routes recorded by the Portuguese on journeys during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of European exploration, chronicling and mapp ...

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

died in Kochi in 1524 when he was on his third visit to India. His body was originally buried in this church, but after fourteen years his remains were relocated to

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

and is now interred at

Jerónimos Monastery The Jerónimos Monastery or Hieronymites Monastery (, ) is a former monastery of the Hieronymites, Order of Saint Jerome near the Tagus river in the parish of Santa Maria de Belém, Belém, in the Lisbon Municipality, Portugal. It became the nec ...

.Ayub, Akber (ed), ''Kerala: Maps & More'', ''Fort Kochi'', 2006 edition 2007 reprint, pp. 20–24, Stark World Publishing, Bangalore,

History

, who discovered the sea route from Europe to India, landed at

Kappad Kappad, or Kappakadavu locally, is a beach and village near Koyilandy, in the Kozhikode district, Kerala, India. A stone monument installed by government commemorates the "landing" by Vasco da Gama with the inscription, Vasco da Gama landed he ...

near

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

in 1498. He was followed by

Pedro Álvares Cabral Pedro Álvares Cabral (; born Pedro Álvares de Gouveia; ) was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil. He was the first human in history to ever be on four continents, ...

and

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

. They built

Fort Emmanuel Fort Emmanuel, also known as Fort Manuel, is a ruined fort located at Fort Kochi Beach in Kochi (Cochin), Kerala, India. It was built by the Portuguese to be a bastion & a symbol of the strategic alliance between the Kingdom of Cochin and t ...

at the

Fort Kochi Beach Fort Kochi Beach is a beach along the Arabian Sea, situated in the Fort Kochi neighbourhood of the city of Kochi in Kerala, South India. Points of interests Unique views and point of interests are the so-called Chinese fishing nets (''Cheen ...

with permission from the Raja of Cochin. Within the fort, they built a church with a wooden structure, which was dedicated to

St. Bartholomew Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2). New Testament references The name ''Bartholomew ...

. The neighbourhood is now known as

Francisco de Almeida '' Dom'' Francisco de Almeida (; 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 Moors and in the conquest of Gran ...

, the Portuguese viceroy, was allowed, in 1506, by the Raja of Cochin to reconstruct wooden buildings in stone and masonry. The

Vasco da Gama died in Kochi in 1524 on his third visit to India. His body was originally buried in this church, but after fourteen years his remains were moved to

The Franciscans retained control over the church till the Dutch captured Kochi in 1663. While the Portuguese were

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, and the Netherlands had Catholic and Protestant citizens, the Dutch government and Colonialists were

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. They demolished all the churches except this one. They reconditioned it and converted it into a government church.

References

External links

St Francis Church;Colonial History of India in Stone
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Francis Church, Cochin Churches in Kochi Colonial Kerala 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in India Church of South India church buildings in India Churches completed in 1503 Churches completed in 1516 1500s establishments in Portuguese India 1510s establishments in Portuguese India Religious organizations established in the 1500s Archaeological sites in Kerala Portuguese in Kerala Portuguese colonial architecture in India Baroque church buildings in India Monuments of National Importance in Kerala Tourist attractions in Kochi

History

See also

References

External links