Kokkamangalam St. Thomas Church

St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church at Kokkamangalam, Alappuzha district, stands midway among the seven churches traditionally founded by St Thomas, and belongs to the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese. According to the Rampan Pattu, an old Christian folk song of Kerala, the apostle sailed here and preached for about a year, converting 1,600 people.

He set up a community and a cross for the faithful; saboteurs later cut it down and threw it into Vembanad Lake, and it floated to Pallippuram, where it is now enshrined. In November 1999 Pope John Paul II brought a relic of the apostle here from Ortona in Italy. Novena prayers are held every Friday evening to honour it, and many who hope for jobs abroad come to pray for the apostle's help.