Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Verapoly (Verapolitana) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese belonging to the Latin Catholics of Malabar of the Latin Church, headquartered at the city of Cochin, in the south Indian state of Kerala. The archdiocese has administrative control over the suffragan dioceses of Calicut, Cochin, Kannur, Kottapuram, Sultanpet and Vijayapuram. The headquarters is located in Kochi along the Malabar Coast in India. It was originally formed as the Vicariate Apostolic of Malabar in 1657 and became a metropolitan see in 1886. Verapoly is the anglicised name of Varapuzha. History. The Archdiocese  of Verapoly was originally known as the Vicariate of Malabar. It has its origin in 1657, with the arrival of Carmelite missionaries, most prominent among whom was the priest Joseph of St. Mary, better known as Joseph Sebastiani. They had been deputed under Hyacinth of St. Vincent as Apostolic Commissar, by Pope Alexander VII to effect a reconciliation of Saint Thomas Christians of the Syro-Chaldaic Rite, who had seceded from their Archbishop Francis Garcia. The majority of them had, in 1653, revolted against the Archbishop and forsaking his authority by taking an oath for the purpose at the foot  of a cross, thereafter called the Coonan Cross, situated in Mattancherry, and made their own Archdeacon Thomas their archbishop. By the efforts of Sebastiani, a large number of seceders were brought back to the Catholic fold. Nevertheless, they refused to be under the authority of Archbishop Garcia or under any prelate of the Jesuit Order known as the "Paulists". Rome, being informed of the situation by Sebastiani in person, decided to entrust the Carmelites with the spiritual care of the Syro-Chaldaic Rite. For this purpose the Vicariate of Malabar was erected by Pope Alexander VII on 3 December 1659 . Sebastiani was consecrated Titular Bishop of Hierapolis on 15 December 1659 and sent back to Malabar, with the title of Vicar Apostolic and Administrator of the Archbishopric of Cranganore. The new Vicariate eventually established its headquarters in the island of Verapoly. The conquest of Portuguese territories in Malabar and especially of Cochin in 1663 by the Dutch and the consequent expulsion of all Catholic Missionaries from the territories occupied by the Dutch and elsewhere, threatened the very existence of the Malabar Vicariate. Nevertheless, it survived under the Indian Prelate Palliveettil Chandy (Alexander de Campo) whom Sebastiani had consecrated as his  successor before he left Malabar in 1663. Before long Carmelites were allowed to resume their ministration which was by then extended also to the Catholics of the Latin Church who were under Portuguese protection. On 13 March 1709 by a brief of Pope Clement XI Malabar Vicariate was suppressed and the Vicariate of Verapoly took its place with Bishop Angelo Francisco as its first Vicar Apostolic. By the brief "Multa Praeclara" of Pope Gregory XVI, dated 24 April 1838, the Sees of Cranganore and Cochin which at that time included also Quilon, were annexed to the Vicariate of Verapoly which  thus came to comprise the whole of Malabar. However, in 1845, Quilon was severed from Verapoly as a Suffragan Vicariate. When by the famous apostolic letter "Humanae Salutis Auctor" of Leo XIII dated 1 September 1886, the Hierarchy of India was established, the Vicariate of Verapoly was raised to the status of an Archdiocese with Leonard Mellano of St. Louis as its first archbishop who was the 17th in the line of the Vicars Apostolic. Along with this, in 1886, the diocese of Cochin was resuscitated and reconstituted with 34 Latin Churches taken from the Archdiocese of Verapoly and the  Diocese of Quilon. On 19 March 1887 the Catholics of the Syriac Rite were separated from those of the Latin Church and placed under an Administrator, Marcelino Bernard of St. Teresa, who was consecrated Co-adjutor to Archbishop Mellano. By brief "Quod Jam Pridem" of Pope Leo XIII, dated 20 May 1887, the Syriac Rite Catholics were exempted from the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Verapoly and the two Vicariates of Trichur and Kottayam were erected for Syro Malabar Church (Malankara Chaldean Syrian church/St Thomas Christians/ Nazranis) with Dr.Adolpus E. Medlycott and Dr.Charles Lavigne as their Vicars  Apostolic. Thus the Archdiocese of Verapoly came to consist exclusively of Latin Catholics.