CoreyHodgkinson at 03:19, 21 April 2026

2026-04-21T03:19:55Z

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{{Short description|Eastern Catholic archeparchy in Kerala, India}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=January 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox diocese
| jurisdiction = Archeparchy
| name = Trichur
| local = ܐܪܟܝܕܝܘܩܝܐ ܕܬܪܫܘܪ
| latin = തൃശൂർ അതിരൂപത
| image = Thrissur1 016.jpg
| image_size = 180px
| image_alt =
| caption =

| country = [[India]]
| metropolitan = Thrissur
| territory = [[Thrissur district]]
| coordinates = 

| area_km2 = 
| population = 2,018,635
| population_as_of =
| catholics = 470,056
| catholics_percent =
| parishes = 215
| churches = 251
| congregations = 
| schools = 23
| members = 460,848

| denomination = [[Catholic Church]]
| sui_iuris_church = [[Syro-Malabar Church]]
| rite = [[East Syriac rite]]
| established = 20 May 1887
| cathedral = [[Our Lady of Lourdes Metropolitan Cathedral]],
| cocathedral = [[Basilica of Our Lady of Dolours]]
| patron = Our Lady of the [[Immaculate Conception]]
| priests = 

| pope = {{Incumbent pope}} 
| patriarch =
| major_archbishop = [[Raphael Thattil]]
| metro_archbishop = [[Andrews Thazhath]]
| coadjutor =
| auxiliary_bishops = [[Tony Neelankavil]]
| vicar_general = Msgr. Jose Vallooran, Msgr. Jose Konikkara
| suffragans =[[Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Ramanathapuram|Eparchy of Ramanathapuram]] [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Irinjalakuda|Eparchy of Irinjalakuda]] [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Palghat|Eparchy of Palghat]] [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Hosur|Eparchy of Hosur]]

| map =Thrissur_Archdiocese_Map.svg
| map_size = 280px
| map_caption =

| website = [https://www.trichurarchdiocese.org/ www.trichurarchdiocese.org]
| footnotes =
|coat=Trichur_archdiocese.png|flag=|headquarters=|founded=|dissolved=|language=|coat_size=180px}}

The '''Archeparchy of Trichur''', in [[Thrissur District]] of Central [[Kerala]], [[India]], with nearly half a million [[Syro-Malabar Church|Syro-Malabar]] Catholics now, used to be the largest Catholic diocese in India when it included the [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Irinjalakuda]] until 1978 and [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Palghat]] until 1973. It was one of the two Vicariates created for Syriac Catholics while the latter being [[Archeparchy of Changanacherry|Archeparchy of Changanassery]]. [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Irinjalakuda]], also located in [[Thrissur District]], has over a quarter million Syro-Malabar Catholics now. [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Palghat]] in Central [[Kerala]] extends to some regions in the neighbouring state of [[Tamil Nadu]]. In 2010, the parts of [[Tamil Nadu]] under the [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Palghat]] were separated to form another [[Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Ramanathapuram]].

The Archeparchy of Trichur was founded on 20 May 1887 by Pope [[Pope Leo XIII|Leo XIII]] by his papal bull ''Quod Jam Pridem'' now covers an area of 2000 Sq. km and has a Catholic population of about 460848. There are 16 Foranes under the Archeparchy of Trichur. The total number of parishes is 215. In addition, there are 36 stations in the archdiocese. Diocese of Ramanathapuram, Diocese of Irinjalakuda and Diocese of Palghat are the suffragan dioceses of the Archeparchy. Raphael Thattil is the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Andrews Thazhath is the Metropolitan Archbishop, Tony Neelankavil is the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese and Jacob Thoomkuzhy is the Archbishop Emeritus.

==History==
The diocese was founded on 20 May 1887 by [[Pope Leo XIII]] by his [[papal bull]] ''Quod iam pridem''. The boundaries of diocese were from [[Periyar (river)]] in [[Aluva]] to [[Bharathappuzha]]. Later it was extended to [[Palakkad district]] and extended to [[Coimbatore District]] in [[Tamil Nadu]] and was the largest Catholic diocese in [[India]].

==Role in education==
Rev. Medlycott has given a description about the state of facilities for education in the vicariate on his arrival in 1887 and on his return in 1896 as below:

{{blockquote|The Vicariate of Trichur had a Catholic Syrian population of 108,422 with eighty-three parish churches and twenty-two chapels-of-ease, served by 118 priests of the Syrian Rite, besides 23 Syrian [[Carmelites of Mary Immaculate|Carmelite Tertiary monks]], in two monasteries; there was also a convent of 24 native Tertiary nuns with a middle-class school of 33 girls. The bishop on taking charge found that there were practically no schools, except one provided for clerics; he took early steps to open as many elementary parish schools as possible; within nine years (1888-96) the vicariate was provided with no less than 231 elementary parish schools for both sexes, educating over 12,000 children, besides a high school ([[St. Thomas College, Thrissur|St. Thomas's College]]), with 95 students; there were also 56 boys in [[St. Aloysius College, Thrissur|St. Aloysius's High School]], under the Tertiary monks.... plans were prepared to house the above college in a handsome structure. This was the condition of things when the bishop went to Europe on sick leave.

<ref>{{cite book|author=Medlycott, A.E.|title=Saint Thomas Christians in Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church, Volume 14|url=https://archive.org/details/catholicencyclop14herbuoft/page/688/mode/2up|year=1912|publisher=Robert Appleton Company|pages=678–688}}</ref>}}

==Parishes and population==
The total number of parishes is 215. In addition, there are 36 stations in the archdiocese. The population of Syro-Malabar Catholics in [[Thrissur]] Archdiocese is about 4,60,848. There are 16 [[dean (Christianity)|foranes]] under [[Thrissur]] Archdiocese. They are:
{| class="sortable" border="1" width="75%"
! Serial No.
! Forane
! Parishes
! Stations
! Houses
! Catholic Population
|- align="center"
| 1
| [[Our Lady of Lourdes Metropolitan Cathedral|Lourdes Cathedral]]
| 17
| 1
| 11746
| 59539
|- align="center"
| 2
| [[Basilica of Our Lady of Dolours, Thrissur|Dolours' Basilica]]
| 16
| 0
| 10095
| 54777
|- align="center"
| 3
| Chelakara
| 11
| 1
| 1615
| 8080
|- align="center"
| 4
| Erumapetty
| 11
| 1
| 2452
| 12285
|- align="center"
| 5
| Kandassankadavu
| 13
| 6
| 6933
| 39781
|- align="center"
| 6
| Kottekad
| 8
| 2
| 4994
| 26134
|- align="center"
| 7
| [[St. Thomas Forane Church, Mattom|Mattom]]
| 8
| 5
| 3761
| 18471
|- align="center"
| 8
| [[Saint Antony's Church, Ollur|Ollur]]
| 14
| 5
| 13372
| 63211
|- align="center"
| 9
| [[St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church, Palayur|Palayur]]
| 14
| 2
| 5873
| 29696
|- align="center"
| 10
| Parappur
| 10
| 5
| 3783
| 17685
|- align="center"
| 11
| Pattikad
| 12
| 0
| 2609
| 13735
|- align="center"
| 12
| Pazhuvil
| 12
| 4
| 4425
| 24892
|- align="center"
| 13
| Pudukad
| 18
| 4
| 11038
| 61064
|- align="center"
| 14
| Puthur
| 10
| 0
| 3232
| 16040
|- align="center"
| 15
| Velur
| 13
| 2
| 3775
| 18528
|- align="center"
| 16
| Wadakkanchery
| 13
| 1
| 5174
| 26872
|}

==Ordinaries==
'''Vicar Apostolic, Bishops and Archbishops'''
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Sl.No
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Ordinary
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Designation
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Year of appointment
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Last year of service
|-
| 1
| [[Adolph Medlycott]]
| align="center" | Vicar Apostolic
| align="center" | 1887
| align="center" | 1896
|-
| 2
| [[John Menachery]]
| align="center" | Vicar Apostolic
| align="center" | 1896
| align="center" | 1919
|-
| 3
| [[Francis Vazhapilly]]
| align="center" | Bishop
| align="center" | 1919
| align="center" | 1944
|-
| 4
| [[George Alapatt]]
| align="center" | Bishop
| align="center" | 1944
| align="center" | 1970
|-
| 5
| [[Joseph Kundukulam]]
| align="center" | Archbishop
| align="center" | 1970
| align="center" | 1997
|-
| 6
| [[Jacob Thoomkuzhy]]
| align="center" | Archbishop
| align="center" | 1997
| align="center" | 2007
|-
| 7
| [[Andrews Thazhath]]
| align="center" | Archbishop
| align="center" | 2007
| align="center" | ''present''
|}
'''Auxiliary Bishops'''
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Sl.No
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Ordinary
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Designation
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Year of appointment
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Last year of service
|-
| 1
| [[Andrews Thazhath]]
| align="center" | Auxiliary Bishop
| align="center" | 2004
| align="center" | 2007
|-
| 2
| [[Raphael Thattil]]
| align="center" | Auxiliary Bishop
| align="center" | 2010
| align="center" | 2017
|-
| 3
| [[Tony Neelankavil]]
| align="center" | Auxiliary Bishop
| align="center" | 2017
| align="center" | ''present''
|}
'''Prelates Hailing From the archdiocese'''
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Sl.No
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Ordinary
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Designation
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Year of appointment
! style="background: #ffdead;" | Last year of service
|-
| 1
| [[Joseph Irimpen]]
| align="center" | Former Bishop - Palghat
| align="center" | 1974
| align="center" | 1994
|-
| 2
| [[James Pazhayattil]]
| align="center" | Former Bishop - Irinjalakuda
| align="center" | 1978
| align="center" | 2010
|-
| 3
| [[Paul Chittilapilly]]
| align="center" | Former Bishop - Thamarassery
| align="center" | 1988
| align="center" | 2010
|-
| 4
| [[Raphael Cheenath]]
| align="center" | Former Archbishop - Cuttack–Bhubaneswar
| align="center" | 1974
| align="center" | 2011
|-
| 5
| [[Clemens Thottungal C.M.I]]
| align="center" | Former Bishop - Sagar
| align="center" | 1977
| align="center" | 1987
|-
| 6
| [[Joseph Pastor]]
| align="center" | Former Bishop - Sagar
| align="center" | 1987
| align="center" | 2006
|-
| 7
| [[Antony Chirayath]]
| align="center" | Former Bishop - Sagar
| align="center" | 2006
| align="center" | 2018
|-
| 8
| [[Bosco Puthur]]
| align="center" |*Curial bishop - Syro malabar Church * Former bishop - Melbourne and New Zealand *Former apostolic Administrator - Archdiocese of Ernakulam Angamaly
| align="center" | 2010
| align="center" | 2025
|-
| 9
| [[Paul Alappatt]]
| align="center" | Bishop - Ramanathapuram
| align="center" | 2010
| align="center" | ''present''
|-
| 10
| [[Raphael Thattil]]
| align="center" | Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church
| align="center" | 2025
| align="center" | ''present''
|-
| 11
| [[Joseph Thykkattil]]
| align="center" | Bishop – Gwalior
| align="center" | 2019
| align="center" | ''present''
|-
| 12
| [[Franco Mulakkal]]
| align="center" | Former Bishop – Jalandhar
| align="center" | 2013
| align="center" | 2023
|-
| 13
| [[Antony Prince Panengaden]]
| align="center" | Archbishop – Shamshabad
| align="center" | 2025
| align="center" | ''present''
|-
| 14
| [[Vincent Nellaiparambil]]
| align="center" | Bishop – Bijnor
| align="center" | 2019
| align="center" | ''present''
|-
| 15
| [[Thomas Anthony Vazhapilly]]
| align="center" | Former Bishop – Mysore
| align="center" | 2003
| align="center" | 2017
|}

==Saints and causes for canonisation==
* St. [[Euphrasia Eluvathingal]]<ref name="CCBI">{{Cite web|url=http://ccbi.in/saints-blessed/|title=Saints & Blessed – CCBI|access-date=Oct 17, 2019}}</ref>
* St. [[Maria Theresa Chiramel]]<ref name=Trichur>{{cite web |title=Glorified Souls - Archdiocese of Trichur |url=https://www.trichurarchdiocese.org/archeparchy/glorified_souls |website=www.trichurarchdiocese.org |access-date=26 February 2020}}</ref>
* Ven. [[Augustine John Ukken]]<ref name="CCBI" />
* Ven. [[Joseph Vithayathil]]<ref name=Trichur />
* Servant of God Fr. [[Antony Thachuparambil]]<ref name="CCBI" />
* Servant of God Sr. Maria Celine Kannanaikal, UMI<ref name=Trichur />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.trichurarchdiocese.org/ Archdiocese of Thrissur]

{{Syro-Malabar Catholic Church Hierarchy}}
{{Thrissur topics}}
{{Christianity in Kerala}}
{{coord missing|Kerala}}

[[Category:Archdiocese of Thrissur| ]]
[[Category:Eastern Catholic dioceses in India|Thrissur]]
[[Category:Syro-Malabar Catholic dioceses|Thrissur]]
[[Category:Dioceses in Kerala]]
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1887]]
[[Category:Eastern Catholic dioceses and prelatures established in the 19th century]]
[[Category:Organisations based in Thrissur]]
[[Category:1887 establishments in British India]]
[[Category:Churches in Thrissur district]]

Archeparchy of Trichur - Revision history

CoreyHodgkinson at 03:19, 21 April 2026