FORT KOCHI

St. Francis Church

This is accessible by bus or boat from Ernakulam, 13 km away. The nearest railway station is also at Ernakulam and the nearest airport is 22 km away, in Nedumbassery. It is situated at Parade Road, 2 Km west of Mattancherry in Fort Cochin.

History - Fort Cochin is believed to be the oldest European Settlement in India and St. Francis Church was the first European Church to be built in India. Presumably it owes its origin to the Franciscan friars who accompanied the Portuguese expedition in 1500 A.D. In 1503 Alphonso Alburquerque was given permission by the Rajah of Cochin to build a fort at the mouth of the river. Within the Fort they erected a church of wood, which was dedicated to St. Bartholomew. A new Church was rebuilt in stone and roofed with tiles in 1516 and dedicated to St. Antony and it was originally named as Santo Antonio. The Church remained in the Order of St. Francis until the Dutch captured Kochi in 1663. While the Portuguese were Roman Catholics, the Dutch were Protestants. So, they ordered all European Catholic priests to quit their territory and demolished all the convents and churches in Kochi, except the Church of the Franciscans, which they reconditioned and converted into their Government Protestant Church. In 1795, the British captured Kochi from the Dutch but they allowed the latter to retain the church. But in 1804, the Dutch voluntarily surrendered it to the Anglicans. It is believed that the Anglicans changed the name of the patron saint to St.Francis. At present it has been taken over by the church of South India. The Church became a protected monument in April 1923 under the Protected Monuments Act of 1904.

Church - This west facing Church has been the model of many churches in India. It has gabled timber-framed roof covered with tiles. The doors and windows of the church have semi-circular arches. The facades are flanked on either side by a stepped pinnacle. The bell turret over the gable front in this Church, is divided into three compartments. Inside the church, the gravestones of the Portuguese and the Dutch that were removed from the floor of the nave, have been refixed respectively over the northern and southern sidewalls of the church. The gravestone of Vasco-da-Gama, laid to rest here in 1524 when he was on his third visit to India, is a major attraction there. Incidentally, after 14 years of his death, the remains were taken away to Lisbon in Portugal in 1538. The earliest Portuguese epitaph here dates back to 1562 A.D. while that of the Dutch to 1664 A.D. Some of the heraldic designs and armorial bearings on the tombstones are of fine workmanship. A few memorial brass plates and marble slabs erected in memory of important persons in service of the church are later additions adorning the walls. The Cenotaph in memory of the residents of Cochin who fell in the First Great War was erected in 1920. The hand operated Pankhas or Fans found in the church are a remainder of the British opulence of that period. The Church possess an interesting link with the past in the form of the 'Doop Book' the old baptism and marriage register from 1751-1804 which may be seen in the vestry. It was maintained for 40 years in the handwriting of Predikant Cornelies and was sent to London in 1932 for the leaves to be repaired by experts. It was then rebound in the original style. A Photostat copy takes the place of the original for scrutiny by visitors. The clock on this Church was erected in the year 1923 in memory of Hal Harrison Jones, a former Managing Director of Aspinwall and Company.

Timings - Open on all days from morning to 6 pm.