Francis Xavier, SJ, venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Basque cleric. He was a Catholic missionary and saint who co-founded the Society of Jesus and, as a representative of the Portuguese Empire, led the first Christian mission to Japan.
Thodupuzha is a municipality and Taluka in the Idukki district of Kerala, India. It is located 55 km (34.2 mi) west of the district headquarters in Painavu and about 192 km (119.3 mi) north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Thodupuzha has a population of 52,045 people, and a population density of 1,468/km2 (3,800/sq mi).
Johann Ernst Hanxleden (1681–1732), also known as Arnos Pathiri, was a German Jesuit priest and missionary, best known for his contributions as a Malayalam and Sanskrit poet, grammarian, lexicographer, and philologist. He lived in India for most of his life and became a scholar of Sanskrit and Malayalam languages before authoring Puthen Pana, a poem on the life of Jesus Christ, Malayalam–Portuguese Dictionary, the first dictionary in Malayalam as well as two linguistic treatises, Malayalavyaakaranam and Sidharoopam.
Fort Kochi, formerly known as Fort Cochin or British Cochin, is a region of Kochi city in Kerala, India. Fort Kochi takes its name from the Fort Manuel of Kochi, the first European fort on Indian soil, controlled by the Portuguese East Indies. This is part of a handful of water-bound islands and islets toward the south-west of the mainland Kochi, and collectively known as Old Kochi or West Kochi. Adjacent to this is the locality of Mattancherry. In 1967, these three municipalities along with a few adjoining areas, were amalgamated to form the Kochi Municipal Corporation.
St. Antony's Forane Church is a Syro-Malabar Catholic church and the first church in India named after St. Antony. It was founded in 883 AD. This church is one of the famous pilgrimage centers in Kerala. It is renowned for the feast of St. Joseph on March 19. The origin of Thattil family in Thrissur is linked with one of the army Chief of The King of Kochi. He was killed in a battle with Zamorin of Kozhikode at a place called Enamavu in Thrissur. As a mark of respect and memory of this great warrior, King promised to construct a church, where his body is buried. Accordingly, his body was buried in Pazhuvil in Thrissur and a church was constructed there. Thattil Clan, Which has its origin in the ancient Christian settlement of Pazhuvil Located in the western part of Thrissur District, 17 km from the city in the Thrissur-Thriprayar Road. By virtue of its nobility and culture this family finds an important place among the ‘Nazrani’-Thomas Christians of Kerala – families, legendarily claiming to be the descendants of those ancestors directly baptized by St. Thomas, one of the twelve Apostles of Lord Jesus Christ. Thattil Mapila who belonged to this clan and whose tomb is situated in the graveyard of Pazhuvil Catholic Church was built in the year 883 AD and catered to the spiritual needs of the Christians including those in Thrissur and its outskirts. Ollur is only one of the chapel of Pazhuvil Forane Church at that time. Arnos Padiri poem writer of Puthen pana buried here in1732. The tomb of Arnos Padiri is here.
Edathua is a small village in Kuttanad, Alappuzha district, Kerala, India. It is located 12 km from Thiruvalla city center, National Highway 183 and the Thiruvalla railway station.
Kadukutty is a village and Gram panchayat in the Chalakudy block in the Thrissur district, state of Kerala, India. It is surrounded by the Chalakudy river on three sides.
Ernakulam refers to the western part of the mainland of Kochi city in Kerala, India. Ernakulam is the most urbanised part of Kochi and has lent its name to Ernakulam District.
The Eparchy of Kothamangalam is an Syro-Malabar Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or eparchy the Catholic Church in India. It was established by Pope Pius XII in 1957. Mar George Madathikandathil is the eparch since 10 January 2013.
Wadakkancherry is a major town in Thrissur, Kerala. Up until 1860, this area was part of Chelakkara Taluk. Now, it is the headquarters of Talappilly Taluk. Wadakkanchery obtained municipality status from the government by merging with the Mundathikode panchayath and it is the only town in Thrissur District to be raised as municipality recently. There are two places with similarly pronounced names: Wadakanchery and Vadakkenchery.
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Trivandrum is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church. Its episcopal see is Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. It shares its see with the major archeparchy of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, the Major Archeparchy of Trivandrum. The archdiocese a metropolitan see of an ecclesiastical province with four suffragan dioceses.
Muttuchira is a village in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India.
Velur or Veloor is a village and panchayat in Kunnamkulam Taluk, Thrissur district, Kerala, India with a population of 22,155. Other places close to Velur are Kechery, Wadakkanchery etc.
St. George's Syro-Malabar Forane Church, locally known as Edapally Church is a Catholic pilgrimage church in Edapally, Kochi, India. It is considered as Asia's largest shrine dedicated to Saint George, about five million people visit it every year.
The St. Antony's Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church is located at Ollur, Thrissur city in Kerala, India. The church belongs to Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Thrissur. According to rough figures there are around 4,000 Christian families in the parish. Because of the huge presence of Christian people in Ollur, with its religious, educational, medical, social-service, and secular organisations and institution, Ollur has been called as Chinna Roma. The church is constructed on a hill-top which is the highest location in the area. The church is surrounded by a huge protective compound wall called Elephant Wall. When Thrissur Vicariate Apostolic was erected in 1887, Ollur was the richest, most populous, and influential parish, so much that the Vicar of the Ollur parish were included in Adolph Medlycott's four-member diocesan apex council. St. Anthony's Forane Church has 18 churches under its jurisdiction.
Christianity in the state of Tamil Nadu, India is the second largest religion in the state. According to tradition, St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, landed in Malabar Coast in AD 52. In the colonial age many Portuguese, Dutch, British and Italian Christians came to Tamil Nadu. Priests accompanied them not only to minister the colonisers but also to spread the Christian faith among the non-Christians in Tamil Nadu. Currently, Christians are a minority community comprising 6% of the total population. Christians are mainly concentrated in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu - Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli.
Champakulam Kalloorkadu St. Mary's Basilica is an ancient Christian Church in Kerala. It belongs to the Syro-Malabar Church under the Archeparchy of Changanacherry. It is a Forane church, with several parishes under it.
Marth Mariam Syro-Malabar Church is a Marian pilgrim center of the Syro-Malabar Church located at Kuravilangad in Kottayam district. This church claims to date to 105 AD. The church has an ancient bell with the engraving on Syriac language "Mother of God." Three majestic bells were brought from Germany in 1911 and is one of the largest bells in Asia. The church is also known for its Kappalottam or "racing ship," a commemoration of the biblical story of Jonah and the whale.
St. Francis Xavier's Church, Sampaloor, popularly known as Sampaloor Palli, is a parish church coming under the Diocese of Kottapuram of the Archdiocese of Verapoly. It is situated along Palayamparambu Road, at Sampaloor, Mala in Thrissur district of the south Indian state of Kerala. The church is best known for hosting a number of Christian saints and missionaries including Francis Xavier, John de Britto, Arnos Pathiri and Constanzo Beschi.
Saint Augustine's Forane Church is a Syro-Malabar church complex located in Ramapuram of Kottayam district, Kerala, India. It is one of the most prominent churches in the Eparchy of Palai and is a notable shrine housing the tomb of Thevarparampil Kunjachan. There are currently three church buildings in the same compound of which the oldest one was built in 1450. A second church in the name of Blessed Mary was built in 1864. The two churches and a two-storey building in which the Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar is said to have lived, is a protected monument of the Archeology Department of the Government of Kerala. A third church was built, to replace the old Augustine's church as the parish church, in 2019. It is one of the largest churches in Asia.
Velur, Thrissur, Kerala 
