[Where did we come from? Where do we stand now? Where are we headed to?]
A History of the Latin Archdiocese of Trivandrum…
Introduction:
Tamil poet Kannadaasan has written:
“Unnai arinthaal, unnai arinthaal
Ulahathil poraadalaam.
Vaazhnthaalum thaazhnthaalum
Thalai vanankaamal nee vaazhalaam”
This means that in order to live an honorable life, one need to know himself. This is what
Socrates also said long ago, “Know thyself.” Only by knowing our past can we truly get to know ourselves. History shapes our self-definition and our relationship to community; it locates us in time and place and helps to give meaning to our lives.
The past is history and the future is mystery. The time we live in right now is a gift from God – that is why it is called the present. And to make the most of a present, we have got to try to use the insights gleaned from the past to create a better future.
History is the only way we can learn from the past. History allows us to grow by standing on the shoulders of giants. Make a mistake once, and you are humans. Never learn from what happened before, and you are dumb. “Those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it,” said George Santayana, the American philosopher.
History can be the vital thread that holds a nation together, as demonstrated most strikingly in the case of Jewish history. Conversely, for us – the fishermen of the archdiocese of Trivandrum, who have lived in a world in which we apparently had no history, its absence can be devastating. [Inside front floppy, “Why History Matters”, Gerda Lerner, Oxford University Press, NY, 1997]
Remembering will make you better. Remembering will make you smarter. Remembering will transform you from a people of history to a people of destiny.
Before the Beginning…
The present day Trivandrum Archdiocese traces its origin to the Diocese of Quilon and the Diocese of Cochin.
a. Quilon:
i. Pope Innocent IV (1243-1254) sends John of Monte Corvino, a Pilgrims Society of Christ’s missionary to India. And he visits Quilon in 1291.
ii. In 1329 Pope John XXII raising Quilon as a diocese made Fr. Jordan Kathalani of Severak, a Dominican religious as the bishop of Quilon through his Bull “Ad Perpetuam Roi Memoriam” on 9th August.
iii. Papal Nuncio John D’ Marinjoli stayed in Quilon at the Jordan Cathedral for some 16 months (1348-1350) as part of his visit.
iv. Alphonso D’ Albuquerque, the Portuguese captain visited Quilon and stated that some 25000 Christians were there.
According to tradition, St. Thomas the Apostle established seven churches along the west coast of India, and Quilon is the second in the list of the above seven churches. Quilon was the See of one of the two Bishops consecrated by St. Thomas and soon rose to be a flourishing Christian center. From fourth century, Quilon became a favoured center of settlement by Christians from Persia who migrated to India to set up business as well as to escape the persecution prevalent in Persia. This is substantiated by the writings of the early centuries. ‘Cosmos Indicaplustus' the Byzantine monk who visited Kerala in 520-525 writes of a Christian community and a Persian Bishop in Quilon, in his book Christian Topography.
Since the latter half of the 12th century, Quilon became the chief centre of missionary expeditions. Franciscan and Dominican Missionaries in the 13th and 14th centuries visited Quilon and their letters confirm the existence of a vibrant Christian community in Quilon. In 1329 Pope John XXII (in captivity in Avignon) erected Quilon as the first Diocese in the whole of Indies as suffragan to the Archdiocese of Sultany in Persia through the decree “Romanus Pontifix” dated 9th August 1329. By a separate Bull “Venerabili Fratri Jordano”, the same Pope, on August 21, 1329 appointed the French Dominican friar Jordanus Catalani de Severac as the first Bishop of Quilon. (Copies of the Orders and the related letters issued by His Holiness Pope John XXII to Bishop Jordanus Catalani and to the diocese of Quilon are documented and preserved in the diocesan archives).
It follows from the Friar Jordanus tradition that Catholicism – not just Christianity – is deep rooted in Quilon. It is widely believed that the Portuguese brought Catholicism to Kerala. The above facts lead us to believe otherwise. It is now evident that while Bishop Jordanus introduced Catholicism, the Portuguese popularized it. The fact that Quilon is the founding seat of the Catholic Church in India is often found obscured in the mist of history.
John De Marignolli was born into the family of Marignolli of St. Lorenzo in Florence. He joined the Franciscan order and was consecrated bishop in 1338 AD. He was chosen as legate to China by Pope Benedict XII (1334-1342). He preached in China and on his way back from China, he landed at Quilon and lived there for over a year, preaching in St. George's Church, which was founded by Jordanus.
The Portuguese missionaries made Quilon one of their most important centers of evangelization. St. Francis Xavier laboured here for several years. He is likely to have been based at Quilon – Tangasseri- during his sojourn in the 1580's. He established a Seminary in Quilon and his letters to Rome give testimony of a dynamic Christian community in Quilon. It is worth noting that Quilon is the only city where both the Apostle St. Thomas and the great missionary of the East St. Francis Xavier preached the Gospel of Christ.
The history of Quilon Diocese from 16th century to 20th century was linked to the battle of European empires for the control of Malabar Coast. The Portuguese who arrived in Quilon in 1503 revived and strengthened the Christian community. They built several churches and monasteries and established new centers of Christianity. It was indeed a glorious period. Mar Abuna Jacob who wielded authority as the Bishop of Malabar wrote to the Portuguese emperor in 1523 that his faithful were known as the ‘Kollam Christians'. Quilon remained a territory under the Franciscans until 1533 when the Diocese of Goa was established and Quilon became part of the new Diocese with the control of Mar Abuna Jacob, till he died in 1550. However 1557, when Cochin was erected as a suffragan Diocese of Goa, Quilon became part of Cochin.
The Portuguese tenure in Quilon has contributed much to its growth and development. Their primary concern was the abolition of the caste system. They made education available to all communities. They started presses, which were a set up that made available books in cheaper cost, and thus people began to read and acquire knowledge. It is a little known fact that one of the oldest presses in India was established at Tangasseri. The press was attached to the San Salvador Seminary of the diocese established by a Jesuit Priest, Fr. Jao de Faria. The first book in Kerala ‘Doctrina Christa' was published from Quilon on October 20, 1578. The Harvard University library possesses a surviving copy of this book. It was printed in the neo-Tamil script of the time in Kerala. The one printed at Quilon, Doctrina Christs en Lingua Malabar Tamil is a translation of St. Francis Xavier's work in Portuguse, translated by Fr. Henrique and Father Manual de San Pedro. The second page of the book mentions that it was printed on 20th October 1578 at the press of the ‘Saviour'. Till today that that place of the press is known in Tangasseri (near the Bishop's House) as ‘Achukuddom Parambu' (Press Place ).
In 1661 the Portuguese who tasted defeat from the Dutch, left Quilon. The Dutch who took control over Quilon, destroyed catholic churches and persecuted Catholics. The Christians of Quilon went through a dark period till 1741. The Dutch, defeated by Marthandavarma, the King of Travancore, had to leave Quilon. Yet another dark period for the Church in Quilon was in 1808 when Velu Thampi Dalava unleashed a fierce persecution on Christians.
Prior to the year 1887, the year of the Concordat, the Catholics belonged partly to the Propaganda Mission and partly to Padrado (Portuguse) Mission. The Pro-Cathedral belonging to the former and the Holy Cross Church and the Church at Olicarai (present Bishop's Chapel), which was the residence of the Ecclesiastical Governor of the Goa Mission were under the Padroado. On the passing of the Concordat between the Holy See and the King of Portugal, the Padroado churches and the Parishioners thereunder were transferred to the Propaganda Mission.
The Christian community of Quilon after remaining a long period without bishops became a part of the diocese of Goa in 1534, when Goa was made an Episcopal see, suffragan to Funchal in the Madeiras. When Goa was raised to an archbishopric on 4 February 1557, Cochin was made suffragan diocese to the Arch-diocese of Goa and Quilon became part of the Cochin diocese. Pope Gregory XVI created the Vicariate of Malabar by his bull Multa Praeclare of 24 April 1838 and suppressed the diocese of Cochin and attached that territory along with Quilon to the Vicariate of Malabar (Verapoly). Later the Vicariate of Malabar was divided into three vicariates, Verapoly, Mangalore and Quilon by the Holy See on 12 May 1845. The apostolic vicariate of Quilon was extended from Arabian Sea to the ‘Sahyan' Mountains and from Cape Comorin to Pamba River, which was provisionally entrusted to the Belgian discalced Carmelite missionaries.
The separation of Quilon, as a new Vicariate Apostolic, suffragan to Verapoly was decreed and was provisionally executed on May 12, 1845, entrusting it to the Belgian Carmelite Missionaries, and finally confirmed as a separate Vicariate Apostolic on March 15, 1853. On April 24, 1838 the Holy See established the Vicariate of Malabar with headquarters at Verapoly and Quilon became part of the new vicariate. The separation of Quilon, as a new Vicariate Apostolic, suffragan to Verapoly was decreed and was provisionally executed on May 12, 1845, entrusting it to the Belgian Carmelite Missionaries, and finally confirmed as a separate Vicariate Apostolic on March 15, 1853. With the establishment of the Hierarchy in India, Quilon again became a Diocese on September 1, 1886 with jurisdiction over the territory from Cape Comerin to Pampa River, in the north.
On May 26, 1930, the southern most part of the Diocese was cut off and erected as a separate diocese - the Diocese of Kottar. Later, by another decree of the Holy See dated July 1, 1937, the Diocese was again divided and the Diocese of Trivandrum was created and entrusted to the Carmelite Fathers.
Rt. Rev. Vincent Dereere OCD was appointed Bishop of Quilon in 1936. Rev. Fr. Ildalphonse OCD had been nominated to be the bishop of Quilon on 14 February 1934 but he died on the following day. On 11 February 1936 Rev. Fr. Vincent V. Derere was nominated bishop of Quilon. He came from the city of Ostand in Belgium. He was a diocesan priest who later made his religious profession on 09 August 1925 and became a Carmelite monk. He came to India as a missionary and while working as the rector of St. Theresa's major seminary he was nominated bishop of Quilon. He was consecrated on 17 May 1936 at the Pro-Cathedral, Tangassery.
One of the major developments during his period was the constitution of the Diocese of Trivandrum. The diocese of Trivandrum was erected by the apostolic bull ‘In ora Malabarica’ on 01 July 1937 and Bishop Vincent V. Derere was transferred to the new diocese of Trivandrum.
Native Life in Travancore:
…it never lets go." But in rare cases agile men may escape with the loss of one or both hands, or a leg. A large proportion of the fish are caught with the long dragnet, consisting of a cotton bag with fine meshes in the centre, and wide meshes of knotted coir rope at either end to lead the fish into the central bag. The upper ropes arc supported by wooden floats, and the under ones kept down by stone sinkers, so as to make a kind of wall of rope. An immense quantity of cordage is used for this net, which almost fills a small boat, being nearly half a mile in total length. One end is left on shore in the hands of a few helpers, and the other end carried to sea by boat, and then payed out in a semicircle: after an hour or two it is dragged in to shore by ten or twenty men and boys. Idlers assisting in the haul are rewarded with a few of the fish. The two ends of the net are equally pulled, boys shouting and beating the water in the middle to drive the fish into the bag as it nears the shore. Large quantities of fish are taken in these nets, chiefly ribbon fish, mullet, pomfret, mackerel, rayfish, with bushels of sardines and small-fry. Thousands of cuttle-fish are also caught and eaten. Perhaps about one and a half rupees worth is the average produce of a single haul. The fisherwomen wait with their baskets ready to run with the fish to the nearest market, and the small fishes are spread out on the sand to dry in the sun.
The supply of fish in the Indian Ocean is abundant, and practically inexhaustible, and with larger boats and better appliances a vast addition might be made to the food store of the people. " But more scientific means than the catamaran and the hook are required to gather in from the sea the harvest which nature provides. Steam trawlers pay on the English Coast, and should do so on the coast of the Madras Presidency, if worked with economy." A more liberal policy as to the salt tax should, however, be inaugurated. The net revenue or profit to the Government from salt in Travancore amounts to twelve and a half lacs of rupees, which averages a fraction over half a rupee per head for man, woman, and child, rich and poor, for taxation alone, besides the actual price and retailers' profits of the salt consumed. The general testimony is that numbers of the poor "have to put up with two-thirds of the proper quantity—are not able to afford sufficient—do not get enough —suffer much from this cause." But the Native States are in this matter obliged perforce to follow suit with the British Government, and to keep up with their scale of taxation of this article. Salt might, at least, be supplied in Travancore, as in Tinne-velly, at lower rates to fishermen for curing fish. This trade is at present a nuisance and a danger to the public health, from the bad quality of the provisions cured rather by the sun than by the antiseptic. Vast numbers of good fish are found in the seas ; and the people are prepared to use them largely as food, and do use them ; but heavy taxes on salt, and heavy duties on exports are highly repressive of this valuable industry, which might expand and become an additional help in periods of general famine. " If capitalists should embark on the business of fish-curing," says the British Commissioner of Salt Revenue, " the Government will be willing to aid them by the duty-free issue of salt at the lowest possible price consistent with the realization by the Department of a fair manufacturing profit; and on some such conditions as that suitable and secure premises be provided for the custody of the salt, and for the conduct of the operations of fish-curing ; and that the adventurers pay for the deputation of a Government officer to supervise the work, and to prevent the removal of the salt otherwise than in corporation with the salted fish ; and give such other security as may be thought necessary that the privilege granted them will not be abused." Unfortunately, however, on the West Coast the best months for fishing are the most dangerous and unsafe for boats.
At the same time greater freedom, protection, and consideration should be given to the fisher-classes. These have somehow always been helpless, uneducated, and the prey of their rulers, and ought certainly to be freed from the depressing extortions of which they still complain in Travancore. [Boats and Fishing. 252-3]
In 1684, during the regency of Umayamma Rani, the English East India Company obtained a sandy spit of land at Anchuthengu (Anjengo) on the sea coast about 32 km's north of Thiruvananthapuram city, with a view to erecting a factory and fortifying it. The place had earlier been frequented by the Portuguese and later by the Dutch. It was from here that the English gradually extended their domain to other parts of Thiruvithamcore (Travancore).
Wives and children of Ettuveettil Pillamar were given to the fishermen: …before daybreak, every one of the Madempimar and Ettu Veetil Pillamar, together with the three Pandarams and the Potty alluded to above were apprehended, and the next day they were arraigned before the Maha Rajah, who was then at Kulculam. The Maha Rajah presided at their trial, the two "olas" were produced, and both the men on whose persons they were found and who were in confinement at Trevandrum, were called as witnesses. Each of the nobles and chiefs so arraigned was called upon to answer the charge of treason on which he was indicted. The two witnesses were confronted with the prisoners and the olas read to them. Forty- two of the nobles and chiefs and their confederates were tried, pleaded guilty and were sentenced to death. They were all hanged at a place known by the name of Mukhamandapam, a few miles north-west of Kulculam.
The four Brahmans and a few others of the same caste were also tried and found guilty, but the punish- ment of death in the case of Brahmans not being allowed by the laws of Manu, by which the Hindus are governed, the Maha Rajah sentenced them to be banished the country, after making them out-castes by branding their foreheads with the figure of a dog. Though the total destruction of these inveterate enemies of the royal house was seriously resolved upon by the Maha Rajah, still His Highness would not tolerate the massacring of women and children; orders were therefore given to seize the families of the traitors, and make them over to the fishermen who lived on the sea-beach, so that they might become out-castes and the race of Madempimars and the rebellious Ettu Veetil Pillamars might not be revived in this age. All their houses and landed property were confiscated and taken possession of by the Sircar, the former were broken up and the materials used for erecting certain buildings attached to the Tre- vandrum pagoda, and the latter was annexed to the Sircar lands. Thus ended a race of chiefs who had been guilty of rebellion against the royal house for many hundreds of years, and at whose hands the royal family had suffered injuries and wrongs of the most inhuman and atrocious character. (P. SHUNGGONNY MENON, Dewcm Peiehcar of Travancore, “HISTORY OP TRAVANCORE -FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES”, HIGGINBOTHAM AND CO., Jttadras: 1878, P.124-126)
At the time of the erection of the Diocese:
The activities of the Indian National Congress echoed in Thiruvananthapuram and other parts of Kerala during the reign of Shri Moolam Thirunal. In 1938, a political conference of the Congress was held in the city under the presidency of Dr. Pattabi Sitaramaiah.
The period of Maharaja Shri Chithira Thirunal Bala Rama Varma who took the reigns of administration in 1931, witnessed many-sided progress. The promulgation of the Temple Entry Proclamation (1936) was an act that underlined social emancipation. In 1937, a separate University for Travancore was started. This was later redesigned as University of Kerala, following the formation of Kerala State in 1956.
After India became independent in 1947, Chithira Tirunal agreed to merge his state with India after some initial hesitation. Travancore was united with neighbouring Cochin State and Chitira Tirunal served as Rajpramukh of the Travancore-Cochin Union from July 1, 1949 to October 31, 1956, which was the entire duration of the existence of that political entity. On November 1, 1956, the state of Kerala was created by uniting the Malayalam-speaking areas of the Travancore-Cochin Union with those of neighbouring Madras State.
With the accession of Travancore to the Indian Union after Independence, the policy of the State Government as well as the political atmosphere underwent radical changes. The first popular ministry headed by Sri.Pattom A.Thanu Pillai was installed in office on 24th March, 1948. Consequent on the recommendations of the State Reorganization Commission, the four southern taluk's of Thovala, Agasheeswaram, Kalkulam and Vilavancode were merged with Tamil Nadu. The State of Kerala came into being on November 1, 1956.
The new born diocese of Trivandrum had to be treated like a new born child. Rt. Rev. Vincent Dereere OCD [1937-66] did things courageously and boldly showing his motherly and fatherly concern. Most of the parishes were in utter poverty. People were poor and uneducated. He, having in mind the economic well being of the diocese, took a lot of initiatives with the co-operation of Bishop Benziger and collected money from foreign countries. Because of his strong prayer life, he could overcome all the problems of the diocese that he faced.
From 1937 to 1966 the Diocese of Trivandrum grew step by step in all in the fields. The number of Catholic Faithful increased and the missionary activities of the diocese got deepened and strengthened. When the diocese got bifurcated there were only 9,10,000 [?](Latin) Catholics. In 1966, it was raised to 2,96,000. In the new born diocese, the Bishop could bring up 15 high schools, 68 Primary schools, one training school, three colleges ....etc with the help of his auxilary bishop Rt.Rev.Dr.Peter Bernard Pereira. In 1955, May 20th the parishes from Pallithura till Erayumanthura, which were belonging to the fifth district of Kochin Diocese, were included in the Diocese of Trivandrum. This is the main reason for the sudden increase in the number of (Latin) Catholics in the diocese.
In each parish they founded pious associations, as well as social action programmes. With the co-operation of the Parish Priests small savings, protection of the people, distribution of food grains to the needy, and such other schemes were done for the development of the society.
In the field of pastoral ministry, catechism and its examinations were done for the first time during his time only. YCS, a movement for the youth, was begun actively in his time. His time was the golden era of all the Pious Associations in the diocese. Pious Associations like Legion of Mary, Marian Sodality stood in the forefront for the spiritual growth of the parishioners. Recognizing the social and church activities of Justice Joseph Thaliyath, the High Court Judge of Travancore, and Justice Muthunayakam Pillai, he honoured them by giving the title of "Shevelier" - the order of St. Gregory the Great, from the Holy Father. He became the saviour of the poor people of this diocese. He was a loving Father and guileless shepherd. After shepherding the diocese for 39 years in the light of the vision statement of the Vatican II in all the ways possible, he retired from the office as Bishop of Trivandrum on 24th October 1966. As he was leaving the diocese, all could see the development of the diocese socially, economically and spiritually by the great sacrifice done by the Carmelite Missionaries of Belgium and Bishop Dereira. He spent the rest of his life in the Carmelite Ashram, Eaprez in his own country Belgium. On 29th December 1974 he commented his spirit in the hands of God the Loving Father.
b. Cochin:
i. After Cochin becoming the trade centre of the Portuguese, it was made a diocese under the Archdiocese of Goa on 4th February 1577.
These neo-apostles reached Kappad near Kozhikode on 20th May, 1498, along with Vasco De Gama, the famous navigator….A second expedition under Captain Alvarez Cabral, comprising 13 ships and 18 priests, anchored at Cochin on 26th November 1500. Cabral soon won the goodwill of the Raja of Cochin. Thus four friars could be assigned to do apostolic work among the early Christian communities scattered in and around Cochin. When King Goda Varma of Cochin was defeated by the Zamorin of Kozhikkode and kept prisoner at Vypeen, a third fleet under Admiral Albuqurque arrived on 3rd September, 1503. This new fleet with greater reinforcements defeated the Zamorin and rescued the Raja of Cochin. Out of gratitude, the Raja granted him permission to build a fortress at Cochin with a church at the centre.
At the behest of the zealous Catholic Emperor, John III of Portugal, more Franciscan friars and secular priests reached Goa on 6th May, 1542. Along with them landed a group of highly trained missionaries of the Jesuit Order led by Fr. Francis Xavier (St. Francis Xavier), a brilliant scholar. In time he moved south to Cochin and studying the situation, sought help from his Jesuit General St. Ignatius and the Emperor for more missionaries from Portugal.
Earlier, the whole of east had been placed under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Lisbon but on 12th June, 1514, by a Bull of Pope Leo X, Goa and Cochin became two important mission stations under the newly created funchal diocese in Madeira. Subsequently, many missionaries were sent to the region by the Portuguese King. Later, Pope Paul III, by the Bull "Aequem Reputamus" of 3rd November 1534, raised the funchal to the status of an Archdiocese and Goa to that of its suffragan, deputing the whole of India under the Diocese of Goa.
On 4th December, 1524, Gama came to Cochin for the third time, now as the Viceroy of India. By the zealous activities of the missionaries of various congregations who arrived, the "Christ Order" in 1500, the Franciscans in 1503, Jesuits in 1541, Dominicans in 1551 and the Augustinians in 1579, all from Portugal, not fewer than 30,000 ‘St. Thomas Christians ‘on the Malabar coast were restored to the union of the Holy See. In recognition of this achievement, the Roman Pontiff, Pope Paul IV, established, by his famous Bull "Pro Excellento Praeeminentia", dated 4th February, 1557, the Diocese of Cochin and declared Goa as its Archdiocese. The Pope also declared thereby the magnificent Portuguese Church of Santa Cruz as the Cathedral of the new diocese. Its boundaries extended from Canannore in the north to Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari) and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) down south on the west coast and the whole east coast of the subcontinent going up north and stretching further east including Burma.
As a result, many factions, rebellions and schisms sprouted. In order to bring these dissidents back to the fold, the Holy See started sending Carmelite Missionaries. Thus was established the Vicariate of Malabar in 1657 which, later, on 13th March, 1709, was changed into the Vicariate of Verapoly with Bishop Angelo Francis OCD as its first Vicar Apostolic.
During this juncture, due to the religio-political rivalries, the Holy See finally decided to hand over the major portion of the Diocese to the Vicariate of Verapoly. Thus on 24th April, 1838, the Diocese of Cochin was annexed to the Vicariate. This Papal Decree created some rift between Portugal and Rome but was solved later. On 23rd June, 1886, the great Pope Leo XIII promulgated the famous Concordat, called "Humanae Salutis Auctor" by which the Diocese of Cochin was restored to its original status and placed again as a suffragan under the Archdiocese of Goa. Simultaneously the Vicariate of Verapoly was raised to archdiocese and the Diocese of Quilon was erected as its suffragan. The emergence of these two dioceses was from the old Padroado Diocese of Cochin, which was erected on 4th February, 1557. Thus we can rightly say that Cochin Diocese, after Goa (1534) was the ‘mother diocese’ of all the bishoprics. From Cannannore in the north it stretched down to Cape Comorin and Ceylon in the south and went along the eastern coast of the peninsula all the way up north to include even Burma! The Diocese of Cochin is immensely pleased to see her progeny growing healthy and hearty though she herself has dwindled to the most diminutive in the country with only 236 sq.kms of territory!
The 31st and the last Portuguese Bishop was Dom Jose Vieira Alvernaz (1942-1951). On 19th June 1952, by the Decree "Ea Redemptoris Verba" of Pope Pius XII, the new Diocese of Alleppy was erected, dismembering Cochin again and the administration of the Diocese was brought into the hands of the indigenous clergy. The first native bishop of Cochin was Dr. Alexander Edezhath (1952-1975)
When the diocese of Cochin was bifurcated in 1952 to create the diocese of Alleppey, the narrow strip of coastal parishes from Pallithura to Erayumanthurai, which formed the Trivandrum Portuguese Mission (the fourth district), was temporarily annexed to Trivandrum with Bishop Derere as its administrator. On 20th May 1955 this territory was definitely integrated into Trivandrum. This has coincided with the appointment of Bishop Pereira as the Auxiliary of Trivandrum.
Bishop Peter Bernard Pereira [1955/66-78]: On 5th May 1995, he was elevated as Titular Bishop of Ursi and Auxiliary Bishop of Trivandrum. [In 1955, May 20th the parishes from Pallithura till Erayumanthura, which were belonging to the fifth district of Kochin Diocese, were included in the Diocese of Trivandrum.]
He was Co-adjutor cum Jure successions of Trivandrum from July 4th 1961. On October 24,1966, when the then Bishop Rt. Rev, Vincent D Dereire, OCD, resigned from the see of Trivandrum the Diocese of Trivandrum passed on into the hands of Bishop Peter Bernard Pereira, who has had the unique privilege of being the first Indian Bishop to guide the destinies of the Trivandrum diocese. He continued as such for nearly twelve years, until his sad demise on 13th June 1978 after a short spell of illness.
In the reign of Bishop Pereira, the Trivandrum diocese has had the benefit of acquiring financial stability besides immense progress in the pastoral and mission field. When Bishop Pereira took charge the Trivandrum diocese was lacking in adequate finance even for its day today activities. His foreign tours in 1957 and 1961 mainly to collect donations for augmenting the slender resources of the diocese were fruitful as it eased a great deal the financial stringency of the diocese. The acquiring of a number of additional landed properties for the diocese was entirely due to the meritorious and selfless work of the late Bishop in this respect.
One of the remarkable events that occurred during the stewardship of the late Bishop was the fearless and active leadership he gave for the successful termination of the “Vimochana Samaram” in 1959 and which has had tremendous and far reaching effect on the educational and political spheres in the state. His staunch leadership in this respect in this part of the state was one of the contributory factors for the successful culmination of that historical event.
Vimochana Samaram: [R. Guha, “India after Gandhi – The History of the World’s Largest Democracy” Harper Collins Publishers, NY, 2007]
Communist Government was formed in Kerala in 1957 under E. M. S. Namboodiripad. In the summer of 1957 it introduced an educational bill aimed at correcting the abuses in privately owned schools and colleges. These were the norm in Kerala, with schools managed by the church, the Nair Service Society, and the SNDP. The bill sought to enhance the status of teachers by checking the powers of management to hire and fire at will, by setting norms for recruitment, and by prescribing salaries and humane working conditions. It also gave the state the power to take over schools that did not abide by the bill’s provisions. [p.297, ibid]
The opposition to the bill was led by the church, whose own powers- moral as well as material-depended crucially on its control of educational institutions…
As it happened, the minister of education, Joseph Mundassery, had spent decades teaching in a Catholic college in Trichur. He knew the corruption of the system, and his bill was in some respects a brave attempt to correct them. However, his government sought to do more than modernize the management; it wanted also to introduce changes in the curriculum. New text books were prepared, which sought, not always subtly, to present history through a communist lens. The lens used by Christian pedagogues was made in a very different factory… [p. 297, ibid]
Anyhow, the dispute over the textbooks added fuel to the fire. By this time, the Christians opposing the bill had been joined by the Nairs… Whereas the Christians had always supported the Congress, the Nairs were split down the middle… However, since the NSS also ran schools and colleges, the new bill helped tilt it against the communists, and into a somewhat opportunistic alliance with the Christians. [p. 298, ibid]
More opportunistic still was the local Congress party. Defeated in the elections, its leaders saw in the resentment against the education bill a chance to regain power. They proposed an anti-communist “Popular Front,” an idea attractive to “the reactionary Catholic Church, landlords, planters and other disgruntled elements,” but a seeming betrayal of the socialistic philosophy of its leaders at the Centre. Through the latter part of 1958 there were a series of strikes and protest marches in Kerala. In one incident in Trichur the police fires on a crowd of congressmen, killing six. [p.298, ibid]
After the Supreme Court rejected an appeal in February 1959, the Kerala Education Bill received the assent of the president of India. In the same month Mrs. Indira Gandhi was elected the president of the Indian National Congress… At this time, the Congress was “speaking with three voices: the members in Kerala active in violent agitation, the central leadership permitting such activity without approving of it, and Nehru disapproving of it but taking no action to curb it.” Meanwhile, the agitation intensified with the entry of the Nair doyen, Mannath Padmanabhan, a founder of the NSS, long active in its schools and colleges… It was said that he had turned against the communists when they refused permission for him to start an engineering college in Palaghat. Now he intended to dispatch “these communists, bag and baggage, not merely from Kerala, but from India and driv[e] them to their fatherland-Russia.” [p. 299, ibid]
In its first place, the education bill, like so much else in modern India, involved simply a clash between the modern and traditional idiom. Mannath, however, brought the third idiom into direct engagement with the other two… [p.299, ibid] Mannath’s arrival gave a huge boost to the movement, which soon included, in the patriarch’s words, “everyone in Kerala who is not a Communist.” On 1 May 1959, a conference of community organizations met at Changanacheri to form a Vimochana Samara Samithi, or Liberation Committee, under Mannath’s leadership. Over the next month, its members carried their message into schools and colleges; into churches and temples; into the homes of fisher folk, peasants, merchants, and workers. [p.300, ibid]
By early June, thousands of volunteers were ready to face arrest. Now commenced a series of hartals, or shutdown strikes, leading to the closure of schools, hospitals, public offices, and factories… The communists “replied with organized brutality.” By one estimate there were 248 lathi charges by the police; also, many bullets were fired, leaving at least 20 people died and many wounded, children and women among them. Each lathi charge served to further swell the ranks of the protesters. Some 150000 protesters were jailed; one fourth of these were women. [p.300, ibid]
It is hard to say who found the situations more distasteful- EMS, as the head of a “people’s government” that was now ordering daily lathi charges and incarcerating thousands of ordinary folks; or Jawaharlal Nehru, the constitutional democrat who watched as his party took to the streets to dislodge a lawfully elected government. In Nehru’s case the agony was compounded by the fact that he largely approved of the agrarian and educational policies of the Kerala government. [p.300, ibid]
Buoyed by the success of the agitation, congressmen in Kerala were pressing the Centre to invoke Article 356 of the constitution, whereby the president could dismiss a state government on account of a breakdown in law and order… To see the situation himself, Nehru visited Kerala in the last week of June 1959. He was alarmed at the “thick walls of group hatred”; the [p.300] two sides, he thought, were almost like two hostile countries at war. [P.301, ibid] But he remained reluctant to ask the president to dismiss the EMS’s government. His hesitancy was not shared by his daughter Indira Gandhi…
Mannath and his warriors were now preparing for a final showdown. The Muslim League had joined the struggle, lending it more legitimacy still. Through the month of July there were daily marches, with the protesters provoking the police into violence. In one gruesome incident, the police entered a fishing hamlet and fired on bystanders, killing a pregnant woman and two others near her. [p.301, ibid]
The Vimochana Samara Samithi had declared 9 August “Zero Day,” when 50000 volunteers, representing all classes and communities, would descend on Trivandrum to paralyse the administration. On 26 July, groups started marching on the capital from all parts of the state, gathering momentum and men along the way. “The hour was approaching when the Communists must choose between massacre and defeat.” A letter from the state governor, pleading with the Centre to intervene, strengthened the hands of the Congress president, Indira Gandhi. The prime minister, her father, finally succumbed, writing to Namboodiripad on 30 July that an order of dismissal was on the way, since “it is no longer possible to allow matters to deteriorate, leading to continuing conflicts and human suffering. We have felt that, even from the point of view of your government, it is better for Central intervention to take place now.” [p.301, ibid]
Six months later Kerala went to the polls again. The Congress, allied with the Socialists and the Muslim League, asked the voters to choose between “Democracy and Communism.” Nehru led a band of stalwarts in a campaign that featured posters of “Flory Mata,” the pregnant fisherwoman shot by the police during the “liberation struggle.” [p.301, ibid]
The Trivandrum diocese is a missionary diocese, and as such, he concentrated his pastoral efforts mainly in the mission areas which are distributed in Nedumangad/Neyyattinkara Taluks. The 120 mission and old churches he constructed will be a standing movement for his tireless and dedicated services, for bringing many souls into the fold on the Universal Church.
In the social field, he achieved a lot for the uplift of the poor and down- trodden. The Trivandrum Social Service Society Society started by him was a new field of enterprise at that time in this respect. It was the late Bishop who initiated and implemented the Marianad Project and was instrumental in starting the PCO [Programme for Community Organization]. At Pallithura when hundreds of poor traditional fishermen were evicted to give way for ISRO establishments, Bishop Pereira constructed 220 pucca houses for the victims of eviction in the 18 acres of land, which the late Bishop bought earlier.
The late Bishop served the Trivandrum dioceses with a selfless dedicated spirit. He was born leader, and able administrator, and above all a disciplinarian.
Bishop A.B. Jacob Acharuparambil[1979-90], born on April 16, 1919, was a Theologian and after being ordained a priest for 34 years, he was ordained Bishop on October 7th, 1979. His appointment as Bishop of this diocese was a right choice at the right time. This was the feeling of the people, including the priests and religious. He encouraged and brought in different renewal programmes in the diocese. Catechism, Kerala Catholic Youth Movement and Liturgy were made alive and active. He reorganized the Curia. He appointed two priests, Fr. James Amado and Fr. A. George as Episcopal Vicars of the diocese to help the Bishop. All important decisions were taken in consultation with the Priests in the Senate.
KCYM activities came in the scene as a sudden growth. Bishop Pereira Hall, Nandavanam, Jubilee Memorial Animation Centre, Vellayambalam, Jubilee Memorial Hospital, Playam, and St.Vincent’s Minor Seminary, Kazhkuttom, were built during his time with the help of funding agencies and local resources. He conducted a seminar for the Priests and Social welfare group members in Vettuthura Canosian Retreat Centre, in which they came to the conclusion that participation of the laity in the diocesan structures and programmes will accelerate the social development in the diocese. T.S.S.S units in the parish level, Health education programmes, housing schemes, small savings scheme, etc were started in the diocese.
It was during his time that the government announced All Saints College and St.Xavier’s College as Colleges of Latin Catholic Community. He established new criteria in appointing teachers in the schools under Corporate Management. He mobilized local resources for the maintenance of the schools and stopped all other means of raising funds.
[1987: Golden Jubilee of the Diocese and the Renewal Programmes evolved at the Living Together of Priests at Kottar, animated by Fr. Amalorpavadas.]
Due to his sickness, he was relieved on 31st January 1990. The charge of the diocese was handed over to the newly appointed administrator of the Diocese, Bishop elect Soosa Pakiam. A spiritual and a holy man, Bishop Acharuparambil, handed over his spirit in the hands of the Lord on 13th August 1995.
The Fishermen’s Struggles: [R. Guha, “India after Gandhi – The History of the World’s Largest Democracy” Harper Collins Publishers, NY, 2007]
… The late 1970s also witnessed the flowering of numerous “new” social movements… It also saw a vigorous environmental movement. Peasants struggled in defence of their forest rights; tribals protested against their displacement by large industrial projects; and artisanal fisherfolk opposed trawlers that were depleting the fish stock of the ocean. In these protests two things stood out: the leading role of women, who themselves bore the brunt of ecological degradation; and the fact that in India (unlike the West, where the concern for nature was couched in aesthetic terms and voiced by the middle class), this was an “environmentalism of the poor,” supported by rural communities for whom access to the gifts of nature was linked to their survival. [pp 538-9, ibid]
These movements were described as “new” because they took up issues neglected by the old, class-based social movements of peasants and workers. However, during the late 1970s those older movements also expressed themselves in new forms. Thus the trade union movement, which had historically focused on the factory sector, now began working among miners and labourers in household and cottage industries. [pp 539-40, ibid]
Accompanying and complementing these movements was a new kind of Indian Press… The end of censorship [during emergency] facilitated the rise of investigative journalism, such as hard hitting stories on crime and political corruption. The spread of education and the expansion of the middle gave an enormous fillip to Indian language journalism. [p 540, ibid]
… there was new forms of social assertion among historically subordinated groups such as low castes, women, and unorganized workers. [p 541, ibid]
The social conflicts in India:
These conflicts run along many axes, among which we may- for the moment- single out four as pre-eminent. First, there is caste, a principal identity for many Indians, defining whom they may marry, associate with, and fight against. The Portuguese word casta conflates two Indian concepts: jati, the endogamous group one is born into; and varna, the place this group occupies in the system of social stratification mandated by Hindu scripture. There are four varnas, with the former “untouchables” constituting a fifth (and lowest) stratum. Into these varnas fit the 3000 and more jatis, each challenging those, in the same region, that are ranked above it, and being in turn challenged by those below. [p 8, ibid]
Second, there is language… Indians speaking one language have fought with Indians who speak another. [p 9, ibid]
A third axis of conflict is religion. In addition [to the majority Hindus and the second largest Muslims], there are substantial communities of Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains. Since faith is as fundamental a feature of human identity as language, it should scarcely be a surprise that Indian worshipping one kind of God have sometimes quarreled with Indians worshiping another.
A fourth axis of conflict is class. India is a land of an unparalleled cultural diversity and also, less appealingly, of enormous social disparities… Yet fully 26% of the country’s population- that is, about 300 million individuals- are said to live below the official poverty line. In the countryside, there are deep inequalities in landholding; in the city, wide divergences in income. Not unexpectedly, these asymmetries have inspired many movements of protest and opposition.
These axes of conflict operate both singly and in combination. Sometimes, a group professing a particular faith also speaks a separated language. Often, the low castes are the subordinate classes as well. And to these four axes one should perhaps add a fifth that cuts across them: gender. [p 9, ibid]
Bishop Soosa Pakiam [1990->:
On 17th June 2004, Holy Father Pope John Paul II has elevated the Diocese of Trivandrum into an Archdiocese and its Bishop Soosa Pakiam M. as its first Archbishop.
Socio- geographical features of the diocese:
The Archdiocese of Trivandrum comprises of Chirayinkil, Trivandrum, Neyyattinkara Taluks of Trivandrum district and some parts of Vilavancode Taluk of Kanyakumari district. The total area of the district is …… and the total population of Trivandrum district is 3234356. The Kanyakumari district has a population of……
Statistical data of the diocese
The total area
Parishes 72
Substations 39
Population 267027
Clergy 200
Diocesan clergy 108
Men religious 92
Women religious
Catechists
D. Institutions and Centres of Social, Educational and Pastoral Ministries:
1. Educational:
Educational Institutions include general education, higher education, technical and professional education. The following are the Institutions to be managed by the Arch diocese of Trivandrum;
Sl.No. Management College B.Ed. TTI HSS HS UPS LPS Total
1 Diocesan 1 1 1 6 2 4 18 33
2 Parish 1 - - 4 1 2 13 21
Total 2 1 1 10 3 6 31 54
Technical Education: ITC, Valiyathura
Community College, Chackai
St.Xaviers computer centre, Palayam
Professional: Little Flower School of Nursing, Palayam
Para medical institute
St.Jacob's (Theera Jyothi) TTI, Menamkulam
St.Jacob’s B.Ed College, Manamkulam
Research Center, PCO, Spencer Junction, Palayam
2. Social Action:
Diocesan Social Service centre
o Various Commissions
o De-addiction center
o Industrial Training Center
o Computer Center
• Integrated Development Projects
• Low cost Housing
• Disaster Management
• Career Guidance
• Socio-Political wing
• Documentation & Research
• Project Planning
• Counseling centers
3. Pastoral
• Pastoral Ministry
• Commission for Bible, Liturgy and catechism
• Liturgy and Music
• Preaching Ministry-Varadanam
• Family Apostolate
• Pious Associations
• Ecumenism and Dialogue
• Christian Art
• Evangelization-Catechists
•
4. Health care institutions
• Jubilee Memorial Hospital
• Little Flower Nursing School
• St. Joseph’s Para Medical Institute
• Pratheeksha De-addiction Centre
• Community based health programmes
• Alternative health care
5. Capacity Building centers
• Jubilee Memorial Animation Centre, Vellayambalam
• Kristu Jayanthi Animation Centre, Kovalam.
• Animation Centres at the parish level
6. Hostel
• Louis Catholic Hostel
• Marian Engineering College Hostel
7. Press and Publications
• Jeeva Jyothi Offset Press
• Jeevanum Velichavum
• Jeevanaadam
8. Other Centres:
• Catholic Centre- Shopping complex
• Bishop Pereira Hall
• Community Halls
• Little flower School of Excellence
• St. Joseph’s Higher Secondary School
• St. Jude's school-Killippalam
• Jubilee Memorial Hospital
• Bishop Pereira Hall
•
9. Estates
• Vettuthura
• Shasthavattom
• Korani
• Manvila
• Kazhakoottam
• Vetturoad
• Menamkulam
• Kovalam
• Mankattukadavu
• Parish properties
• Karali,
• Enggineering college land,
• Rubber estate of Monvila,
• Piece of land in the Sc/ st colony etc.
E. Population
• Total Catholic Population - 267027
Parishes on the basis of the strength of families:
Sl .No Strength of families Parishes
1. Below 250 families 61 (57%)
2. Between 250 to 400 9 (8%= 65%)
3. Between 400 to 750 12 (11%= 76%)
4. Between 750 to 1000 8 (8%= 84%)
5. Between 1000 to 1250 6
6. Between 1250 to 1500 5
7. Between 1500 to 2000 2
8. Above 2000 families 5
Total 108
It is to be noted that average size of the family is four and around 60% of the parishes are having a population of 1000.
The majority of the parishes (85%) are having the maximum population of 4000, which ensure easy management. There are 15% (18) parishes having more than 4000 population and special support is required and a concern is to be shown.
In the case of family units around 75% of the parishes are having less than 25 BCC units.
It is important to note that there are 10 to 15 percent of the parishes require extra personnel for pastoral care.
Parishes on the basis of family units
Sl. No Number of BCC units Parishes
1. Below 10 units 60 (55%)
2. Between 11 to 15 11 (10% =65%)
3. Between 16 to25 9 (8% = 73%)
4. Between 26 to 35 9 (8% = 81%)
5. Between 36 to 50 9 (8% = 90%)
6. Between 51 to 75 7
7. Between 76 to 100 3
8. Above 100 units nil
Total 108
F. PRIESTS
DIOCESAN - 108
RELIGIOUS - 92
RETIRED PRIESTS 11
PRIESTS WORKING OUTSIDE 11
PRIESTS WITHOUT MINISTRY 2
SUSPENDED PRIEST 1
PRIESTS SENT FOR STUDIES 9
PRIESTS UNDERGOING MEDICAL TREATMENT 2 36
PRIESTS IN ACTIVE MINISTRY 72 72
TOTAL 108
1. SENIOR PRIESTS - 39
2. JUNIOR PRIESTS - 69
3. PRIESTS WORKING OUTSIDE - 5
