page_title: Christianity in Kanyakumari district
section_title: Roman Catholic Church
hierarchical_section_title: Christianity in Kanyakumari district / Denominations / Roman Catholic Church
caption_attribution_description: English: A front view of the church
context_page_description: Christianity in Kanyakumari district is its second largest religion. The Catholic Church has about 400,000 followers, while the Protestant groups have about 200,000 members. Currently, Christians are a minority community in Kanyakumari District comprising 46% of the population.
  Christianity is said to date back to the 1st century CE. According to the tradition, St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, landed on the Malabar Coast in 52 CE and introduced Christianity. It is believed he built St. Mary's Church in Thiruvithamcode in 63 AD. During the colonial period Italian, British, Dutch and Portuguese Christians came to Tamil Nadu.
context_section_description: In 1542, St. Francis Xavier came to Kanniyakumari District.During the 16th century, he converted thousands of fishermen between Ramanathapuram and Kanyakumari to Catholicism. Between 1543 and 1544 Francis established forty-five churches in the coastal areas of Travancore.
caption: Our Lady of Ransom Church in Kanyakumari
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