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Correcting typo

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{{Short description|Diocese of the Catholic Church in Kollam, India}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2010}}
{{cleanup reorganize|date=July 2017}}
{{Infobox diocese
| jurisdiction = Diocese
| name = Quilon
| latin = Dioecesis Quilonensis
| local =  കൊല്ലം രൂപത
| caption =
| coat =Coat of Arms, Diocese of Quilon.png
| coat_size =200px
| coat_caption =
Revised Coat of Arms of the Diocese 2020
| country = {{flag|India}}
| province = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trivandrum|Trivandrum]]
| headquarters =Bishop's House, [[Tangasseri]], Kollam
| area_km2 = 1950
| population = 5,309,000
| population_as_of = 2010
| catholics = 239,400
| catholics_percent = 4.5
| parishes = 105
| churches = 
| denomination = [[Catholic Church|Catholic]]
| sui_iuris_church = [[Latin Church]]
| rite = [[Roman Rite]]
| established = 9 August 1329 ({{age|1329|08|09}} years ago)
| dissolved =
| cathedral = [[Infant Jesus Cathedral]], [[Tangasseri]], [[Kollam]]
| patron = [[Our Lady of Mount Carmel]]
| priests = 129
| pope = {{Incumbent pope}} 
| bishop = [[Paul Antony Mullassery|Rt. Rev. Dr. Paul Antony Mullassery]]
| metro_archbishop = [[Soosa Pakiam|Most Rev. Dr. Maria Callist Soosa Pakiam]]
| vicar_general = Very Rev. Msgr. Vincent Machado
| episcopal_vicar = Very Rev. Fr. Joseph Detto Fernandez
| judicial_vicar =Very Rev. Dr. Shaji Jerman
| emeritus_bishops = [[Stanley Roman|Rt. Rev. Dr. Stanley Roman]]<br/>[[Joseph Gabriel Fernandez|Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Gabriel Fernandez]]
| website = {{Official website|http://www.quilondiocese.com/|quilondiocese.com}}
| footnotes =
|flag=|founded=|language=Malayalam|image=|territory=|metropolitan=}}

[[File:Giovanni Marignolli JS.jpg|thumb|upright|John De Marignolli, Papal legate in Quilon, 1348-1349]]
[[File:Bischofshaus QuilonJS.jpg|thumb|upright|Episcopal Bishop's house and chapel in Quilon]]
[[File:Quilon Bischofskapelle mit Bischof Fernandez JS2.jpg|thumb|upright|Episcopal chapel with Bishop Joseph Fernandez, 1998. In 1930 the [[Syro-Malankara Catholic Church]] was founded.]]
[[File:Quilon Bischofskapelle Gedenkstein JS2.jpg|thumb|upright|Quilon bishop's chapel, memorial stone to commemorate the founding of the Syro-Malankara rite, 1930]]
[[File:Kollam Infant Jesus KathedraleJS.jpg|thumb|upright|400-year-old [[Infant Jesus Cathedral]] at [[Quilon]]-[[Tangasseri]]. In 2006 it was demolished and replaced by a new building.]]
[[File:Kollam Bischofsdenkmal.JPG|thumb|upright|Monument to the bishops and vicars Apostolic in front of the cathedral at Quilon-Tangasseri]]

The '''Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon''' is a [[diocese]] of the [[Catholic Church]] in the Indian city of [[Kollam]], and under the [[Ecclesiastical Province]] of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trivandrum|Trivandrum]]. The diocese, which covers an area of 1,950 km<sup>2</sup>. (753 square miles), and contains a population of 4,879,553 - 235,922 (4.8%) of which are [[Catholic Church in India|Catholic]]. It was first erected on 9 August 1329, and was re-erected on 1 September 1886.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.quilondiocese.com/quilon.php?Pid=16&Mid=89 |title=Maritime institute to come up at Neendakara |publisher=Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon |access-date=21 March 2016}}</ref>

{{As of|2018|04|18}}, [[Paul Antony Mullassery]] is the [[bishop]] of the Diocese of Quilon.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/paul-antony-is-new-kollam-bishop/article23597650.ece |title=Paul Antony is new Kollam Bishop |work=The Hindu|date=19 April 2018 |access-date=19 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/190418/paul-antony-mullassery-appointed-kollam-bishop.html |title=Paul Antony mullassery appointed kollam bishop |work=Deccan Chronicle|date=19 April 2018 |access-date=19 April 2018}}</ref>

==History==
===Early history===
According to tradition, St. [[Thomas the Apostle]] established seven churches along the southern part of west coast of [[India]], and [[Quilon]] (pronounced Koy-lon<ref>{{citation | title = International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania | first1 = Trudy | last1 = Ring | first2 = Robert M. | last2 = Salkin | first3 = Paul E. | last3 = Schellinger | first4 = Sharon | last4 = La Boda | publisher = Taylor & Francis | year = 1996 | location = New Brunswick, New Jersey | page = 710 | isbn = 9781884964046 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=vWLRxJEU49EC&pg=PA710}}</ref>) is the second in the list of the above seven churches.

[[John of Monte Corvino]], a member of the Societas Peregrinantium Pro Christo on his way to [[China]], landed in [[Quilon]] in 1291 and ministered the Christian community. The Venetian traveller Marco Polo who visited [[India]] in 1292 testified to the presence of a Christian community in [[Quilon]].<ref>{{cite book|date=1957|title=Christian India |publisher=Felix Alfred Plattner }}</ref>

===Erection of the diocese its first bishop===

Since the latter half of the 13th 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]], from the Holy See then in Avignon (France), erected [[Quilon]] as the '''first Diocese in the whole of Indies''' as suffragan to the Archdiocese of [[Soltaniyeh]] in Persia through the decree '''"Romanus Pontifex"''' dated 9 August 1329 By a separate bull, "Venerabili Fratri Jordano", the same Pope, on 21 August 1329 appointed the French or Catalan Dominican friar [[Jordanus Catalani]] as the first Bishop of [[Quilon]].

(Copies of the Orders and the related letters issued by Pope John XXII to Bishop Jordanus Catalani and to the diocese of [[Quilon]] are documented and preserved in the diocesan archives. Also reprinted in the Indian Church History Classics, Vol.I, The Nazranies, South Asia Research Assistance Services, Ed. Prof. George Menachery, Ollur, 1998.)

The ancient diocese of [[Quilon]] had extensive jurisdiction over modern nations of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma and Sri Lanka.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.quilondiocese.com/quilon.php?Pid=16&Mid=73 |title=Milestones in the History of the Diocese of Quilon |access-date=21 March 2016}}</ref>

[[Jordanus Catalani]] arrived in Surat in 1320. After his ministry in Gujarat he reached [[Quilon]] in 1323. He not only revived Christianity but also brought hundreds to the Christian fold. He might have come again to [[Quilon]] as the bishop in 1330 to build the church at [[Quilon]], known as St. George of the Latins. George happened to be the patron saint of the Catalans, besides being popular among other Christian communities on the Malabar coast. His book "Mirabilia Descripta" is a rare work on plants, animals and the people of India and of other countries in Asia and this is an authoritative work on India dating 700 years back. This book is considered to be a landmark chronicle of its time written around 1327.

The first Latin Bishop of [[Quilon]] was received with great jubilation by the faithful of [[Quilon]]. He brought a message of good wishes from the Pope to the local rulers. As the first Latin bishop in India, he was also entrusted with the duty of spiritual nourishment of the Christian community in [[Calicut]], [[Mangalore]], [[Thane]] and Baruch (Gujarat). According to Portuguese sources, written more than two centuries later, he was martyred by Muslims in [[Bombay]] in 1336, as much as the four Franciscan friars that he had to bury, fifteen years before, in the very same place (one of them, [[Thomas of Tolentino]], was beatified). In the year 1348 John De Marignoli, the Papal Legate to China on his way back to Rome sojourned here for 14 months. With the martyrdom of the first Latin Bishop, the See of [[Quilon]] remained vacant. There was a 'historic gap' with regard to ecclesiastical administration in India till the Portuguese landed here in 1498 AD.

It follows from the Friar Jordanus tradition that Catholicism – not just Christianity – is deep rooted in [[Quilon]]. It is now settled that Latin Catholicism was brought to Kerala in the early 14th century by this Catalan or Occitan speaking Dominican. It is now evident that while Bishop Jordanus introduced Latin Catholicism, the Portuguese popularized it. In the 1340s, an Italian friar called Marignolli called on Kollam and still found a Catholic church that he mentions as Saint George of the Latins, probably built by Jordanus (Saint George was popular among the Malabar Syrian Christians, but also happens to be the Patron Saint of Catalonia). The fact that '''[[Quilon]] is the founding seat of the Catholic Church in India''' is often found obscured in the midst of history.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

===Franciscan missionary activity===
John De Marignolli ([[Giovanni de' Marignolli]]) of St. Lorenzo in Florence, 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.

In 1338 during the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XII (1334–1342) the great Khan of Peking in China sent a great delegation of ambassadors to the Pope at Avignon and were given a royal reception by the Pope. They requested the Pope to send a legate who would be wise, capable and virtuous to care for their souls. Responding to their request the Pope chose John De Marignolli as his legate to China and he accompanied the ambassadors of Great Khan on their homeward journey. Marignolli departed with a great number of friars and precious gifts for Khan, princes and sovereigns. They departed in March 1339 and after a long and perilous journey reached their destination, Khanbalique in 1342 and were received by the Great Khan, who was the last of the Mongol dynasty in China.

After three years of mission Marignolli decided to return to Europe. On his departure on 26 December 1345 he set out for [[Quilon]] where he arrived on 23 March 1346. The Christians of [[Quilon]] warmly welcomed him. He lived there for over a year, and preached in St. George's Church, founded by Jordanus.

He concentrated himself in the Latin Church of St. George founded by Bishop Jordanus. He preached in this Church and adorned the Church with paintings. He could not do much of missionary activity here since he became sick with dysentery during his stay at [[Quilon]]. When he recovered he visited Cape Comorin the extremity of Indian Peninsula where he erected a marble pillar mounted by a cross in full view of Ceylon. It seems that he was an ambitious man and was desirous that the good people of [[Quilon]] should never forget him and that was the intention of the erection of the marble pillar. The column, which was to endure till the world's end soon crumbled under the corroding influence of the elements and the inscriptions, were destroyed. Later a wrong tradition developed, attributing this column to St. Thomas. Marignolli set for Sumatra and Ceylon in July 1347. In September 1348 he came back to India. He left India in 1350 AD.

===Portuguese control===
The Portuguese missionaries made [[Quilon]] one of their most important centers of evangelization. [[St. Francis Xavier]] laboured here for several years. He established a Seminary in [[Quilon]] and his letters to Rome give testimony of a dynamic Christian community in [[Quilon]].

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. [[Quilon]] remained a territory under the Franciscans until 1533 AD when the Diocese of Goa was established and [[Quilon]] became part of the new Diocese. However, in the year 1557 AD, when Cochin was erected as a suffragan Diocese of the Archdiocese of Goa, [[Quilon]] became part of Cochin Diocese.

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 20 October 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 Portuguese, translated by Fr. Henrique and Father Manual de San Pedro. The second page of the book mentions that it was printed on 20 October 1578 at the press of the 'Saviour.' Till today that place of the press is known in [[Tangasseri]] (near the Bishop's House) as 'Achukuddom Parambu' (Press Place).

===Suppression and reestablishment===
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.

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 12 May 1845, entrusting it to the Belgian Carmelite Missionaries, and finally confirmed as a separate Vicariate Apostolic on 15 March 1853.

On 24 April 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 12 May 1845, entrusting it to the Belgian Carmelite Missionaries, and finally confirmed as a separate Vicariate Apostolic on 15 March 1853. With the establishment of the Hierarchy in India, [[Quilon]] again became a Diocese on 1 September 1886 with jurisdiction over the territory from Cape Comerin to Pampa River, in the north.

This arrangement was effected in 1853, and on the establishment of the hierarchy in 1886 it was finally elevated into an episcopal see, suffragan to Verapoly.

==List of bishops==
[[Latin Rite]]
* [[Jordanus|Jordanus Catalani]], (1329–1336)
* Bernardino Baccinelli of St. Teresa, (pro-vicar Apostolic, 1845–1853)
* Bernardino Pontanova of St. Agnes, (1853)
* Maurice of St. Albert, (1854)
* Charles Hyacinth Valerga, (1854–1864)
* Ephrem-Edouard-Lucien-Théoponte Garrelon, (20 June 1868 – 3 June 1870)
* Ferdinand Maria Ossi, (23 September 1883 – 16 August 1905)
* Luis María (Alberic Ludwig) Benziger, (16 August 1905 – 23 July 1931)
* Vincent Victor Dereere, (10 February 1936 – 1 July 1937)
* Jerome Maria Fernandez Thuppassery, (25 September 1937 – 30 January 1978)
* [[Joseph Gabriel Fernandez]] (30 January 1978 – 16 October 2001)
* [[Stanley Roman]], (16 October 2001 - 18 April 2018)<ref>{{cite press release | access-date = 18 April 2018 | publisher = Holy See Press Office | date= 18 April 2018 | title =Resignations and Appointments, 18.04.2018 | url = http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2018/04/18/180418b.html }}</ref>
* [[Paul Antony Mullassery]], (18 April 2018 – present)

==Saints and causes for canonisation==
* Servant of God Adelrich Benziger (Aloysius of Saint Mary)<ref name="Benziger Adeodatus DC">{{cite news |title=Bishop Maria Benziger, Adeodatus made Servants of God |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/211018/bishop-maria-benziger-adeodatus-made-servants-of-god.html
|work=Deccan Chronicle|date=21 October 2018 |language=en}}</ref>
* Servant of God Bishop Jerome Fernandez<ref name="CCBI">{{Cite web|url=http://ccbi.in/saints-blessed/|title=Saints & Blessed – CCBI|access-date=17 October 2019}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[John of Montecorvino]], (Giovanni Da/di Montecorvino, Monte Corvino) (1246, Montecorvino, Southern Italy - 1328, Peking),
*[[Odoric of Pordenone]] (real name Odoric Mattiussi or Mattiuzzi) (1286 – 14 January 1331 AD)
* [[St Andrew's Church, Kovilthottam]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon}}
*[http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/quil1.htm GCatholic.org] [[Wikipedia:SPS|{{sup|[''self-published'']}}]]
*[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dquln.html Catholic hierarchy ] [[Wikipedia:SPS|{{sup|[''self-published'']}}]]
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12610a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia]

{{Catholic}}
{{Kollam|state=collapsed}}
{{Christianity in Kerala}}
{{coord|8.8843|N|76.5660|E|source:wikidata|display=title}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Organisations based in Kollam]]
[[Category:History of Kollam]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic dioceses in India|Quilon]]
[[Category:Dioceses in Kerala]]
[[Category:Religious organizations established in the 1320s]]
[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1886]]
[[Category:1329 establishments in Asia]]
[[Category:14th-century establishments in India]]
[[Category:Dioceses established in the 14th century]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic dioceses established in the 14th century]]
[[Category:Churches in Kollam district]]

Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon - Revision history

imported>Avidohioan: Correcting typo