Historical PlaceChurch

St. Francis Xavier Forane Church, Velur

Protected Syro-Malabar church at Velur, believed founded in 1712 by the German Jesuit Arnos Padiri

Photo: Shajupanakkal · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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01 — The story

St. Francis Xavier Forane Church stands at the centre of Velur in Thrissur district. A Syro-Malabar Catholic church, it is a protected monument of the Archdiocese of Thrissur, valued for its age and spiritual heritage. As a forane church it became the mother church of many parishes, and four forane divisions have grown out of it.

Its founder was Fr. Johann Ernst Hanxleden, a German Jesuit popularly called Arnos Padiri, who wrote the first Malayalam–Portuguese encyclopedia. The church is believed to have been founded on 3 December 1712 and dedicated to St Francis Xavier.

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02 — About

Coming soon

We’re still writing about St. Francis Xavier Forane Church, Velur: its history, what’s there and why it’s worth the trip.