www.sabarimala.org - An exclusive site on Sabarimala,south india's largest pilgrim center.

St. Thomas, one of the twelve chosen disciples of Christ and the Apostle of India who sowed the seeds of Christianity in India, set foot at Cranganore (Kodungallur) in 52 AD. At that time Cranganore (Kodungallur) was a busy center of commerce and an important port. He traveled about various parts of Kerala by water and land, preaching the Gospel and forming Christian communities which began to grow and several of them sprang up in the vicinities of Thrissur Town too. The heart of the town, known for its spiritual and cultural heritage, was a dense forest in those days.Sakthan Thampuran, the great Maharaja of Cochin, paved the way for Urban Development and Commercial Progress of Trichur. As he understood keenly that the presence of Christians was quite essential for the development of the town where there were only a few Hindu families inhabiting, he took measures, around the year of 1794, for bringing and rehabilitating 52 Syrian Christian families from the neighboring centers of Aranattukara, Ollur and Kottekkad. He rendered all necessary help to these Christians. The option of the number 52 was as if to perpetuate the great Apostle's arrival in Kerala. Since there was no Christian Church in the town, they had to go their parent churches to fulfill their spiritual needs. The Maharaja who perceived their difficulties, promptly permitted them to build a church.In 1814, His Ex. Dominicos, Archbishop and Governor of Cranganore (Kodungallur) Arch diocese, gave his approval and blessing to build the first Catholic church in the name of Our Lady of Dolours. From 1814 to 1838, this church was under the jurisdiction of the Cranganore (Kodungallur) Archdiocese. On 24th April, 1838, H.H. Pope Gregory XVI issued a proclamation, "Multa Praeclara", whereby the Cranganore (Kodungallur) diocese ceased to exist. Consequently the Church of Our Lady of dolours came under the authority of the Bishop of Verapoly which continued till 1861. Unfortunately, with the advent of the Persian Catholic Bishops Rocos and Melus, who came here without the necessary permission from the pope, there started differences among the Catholics of Trichur and its suburbs. The differences resulted in the so-called Rocos-and-Melus Schisms. Bishops Rocos and Melus had to go back owing to strong protest from the people in 1862 and 1882 respectively. In the year 1886 Pope Leo XIII suppressed the Archdiocese of Cranganore (Kodungallur) and in 1887 separated the Kerala Syrian Catholics from Verapoly and brought them under the Syro lMalabar Vicariates of Trichur and Kottayam. He appointed His Ex. Adolph Medleykot as the first Bishop of Trichur.In the fickle vagaries of history that followed, the Catholics lost possession of the Church of Our Lady of dolours which they constructed in 1814. To compensate that loss, the Catholics of Trichur decided to build another church. Petitions seeking permission for this were sent to the Maharaja of Cochin, the Governor of Madras, the Viceroy and the British Emperor. Eventually on 8th October, 1925 , as per the order of H.H. Ramavarma Maharaja of Cochin, the Cochin Sarkar issued royal sanction to build a new church within the premises of the fort city of Trichur

By the grace of God, the Church of Our Lady of Hope, Vypeen, facing the shipping channel of Cochin, is celebrating the fourth centenary of her erection on this 19th November, 2005. The statue of her Heavenly Patroness, Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ and the whole Catholic Church, with an anchor in hand, is symbolic of the deep faith of her children of the parish and the history of Vypeen.