Church of Our Lady of Hope

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Church of Our Lady of Hope, Vypeen
Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Esperança, Vaipim (Portuguese)
Eccleasia de domina spei, Vypeen (Latin)
പ്രത്യാശമാതാ ദേവാലയം, വൈപ്പിൻ
Our_lady_of_hope-vypeen_(1)
Front of the church
Church of Our Lady of Hope, Vypeen is located in Kerala
Church of Our Lady of Hope, Vypeen
Church of Our Lady of Hope, Vypeen
9°58′25″N 76°14′34″E / 9.9737°N 76.2429°E / 9.9737; 76.2429Coordinates: 9°58′25″N 76°14′34″E / 9.9737°N 76.2429°E / 9.9737; 76.2429
LocationFort Vypeen, Vypeen, Kochi, Kerala
DenominationCatholic Church (Latin Church)
Websitehttps://www.dioceseofcochin.org/parish/our-lady-hope-church-estd-1605
History
Former name(s)Capela de Nossa Senhora da Esperança
Founded1605 AD
Architecture
StyleGothic
Administration
ParishOur Lady of Hope Parish
ArchdioceseArchdiocese of Verapoly
DistrictErnakulam
Clergy
ArchbishopJoseph Kalathiparambil

Church of Our Lady of Hope ( Malayalam: പ്രത്യാശമാതാ ദേവാലയം, Cochin Portuguese: Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Esperança ) is a Latin Church parish in the Archdiocese of Verapoly. It is located at Fort Vypin in the island of Vypeen, the point where the Vembanad Lake merges with the Arabian Sea, with Fort Cochin on the other side.

The church, with an area of 10 km2 (3.9 sq mi), occupies the southern end of Vypeen Island. Ministering to Latin Catholics of Malabar, its liturgies are according to the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. The patron of the church is Our Lady of Hope a form in which Virgin mary is venerated as the patron of Fishermen and navigators, pointing to why the emblem of church is an anchor. It happens to be one of the oldest churches in Kochi, built by the Portuguese in 1605 A.D. It was part of Diocese of Cochin and is now under the administration of Archdiocese of Verapoly. A significant Anglo Indian population is found within the parish's borders, mostly of Portuguese and English ancestry The Church is home to the famous statue of Ecce Homo, meaning 'Behold the man' (Malayalam: കൈകെട്ടിയ രൂപം ) a statue of our lord in chains and is kept for public veneration on the 4th Sunday of lent every year. The parish remains as one of the only parishes with a Confraternity system, colloquially known as 'Konpriya'( Malayalam: കൊമ്പ്രിയ /കൊമ്പിരിയ ) which includes three of such, the Confraternity of Our Lady of the Rosary and Infant Jesus, the Confraternity of Saint Peter and Saint Paul and lastly the Confraternity of Saint Sebastian.

The parish has the fortune to celebrate several feasts a year.

Major feasts celebrated are;

Infant Jesus' Confraternity feast- Week including 6th January

St Morris - 3rd sunday of January

St Sebastian's Confraternity feast- Week including 20th January

St Joseph - 19th March

Our Lady of Hope's Parish feast- Week including 21st May

St Antony- 13th June

Our Lady of Velankanni- 8th September

Our Lady of Rosary- week including 7th October

St Peter and St Paul's Confraternity feast- 3rd week of November


History[edit]

During the Age of Discovery, the Roman Catholic Church established a number of Missions in the New World in order to spread Christianity. The missionaries of the different orders (Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits, Augustinians, etc.) flocked out and began at once to build churches along the coast districts wherever the Portuguese power made itself felt.

This church was built by the Portuguese missionaries and blessed in 1605 A.D by Bishop Dom Andrea de Santa Maria O.F.M., the then Bishop of Cochin

The Dutch who conquered Cochin in 1663, destroyed all Catholic buildings in Cochin. Only the St. Francis Church, Santa Cruz Basilica, and St. Louis Church Mundamveli (2nd Parish Church) escaped this fate. The original wooden altar and screen of St Francis church were moved to this church when the Dutch took possession of St Francis church.

This imposing church was renovated in 2005 as part of its fourth centenary celebrations. The fourth centenary of her erection was celebrated on 19 November 2005.

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