St. Francis Church

St. Francis Church, originally dedicated to Santo Antonio, the patron Saint of Portugal, is the first European Church in India. Situated at Parade Road, 2 Km west of Mattancherry in Fort Cochin, this church is a living historical monument and one of the main tourist attractions in Fort Kochi.

The history of this ancient church reflects the colonial struggle of the European powers in India, from the15th through 20th century. The church was originally a wooden structure dedicated to St Bartholomew within the fort built

in 1503, by the Portuguese who came with Admiral Pedro Alvarez de Cabral, following the tracks of Vasco da Gama who landed at Calicut in 1498. In AD 1506, the Portuguese Viceroy Dom Francisco Almedia was permitted by the Cochin Raja to reconstruct the buildings in stone masonry. Accordingly the wooden Church was refurbished presumably by the Franciscan friars with bricks and mortar and a tiled roof was erected. In 1516 A.D the new church was completed and it was dedicated to St.Antony. 

When the protestant Dutch captured Kochi in 1663, they converted it into their government church and made some renovations in AD 1779. The church was under the control of the Dutch until 1795 when the British captured Kochi from the Dutch. They permitted the Dutch to retain the church for sometime. In 1804, the Dutch voluntarily surrendered the church to the Anglican Communion when it was passed to Ecclesiastical Department of the Government of India. It is believed that the Anglicans changed the name of the patron saint to St. Francis. 

The church became a protected monument in April 1923 under the Protected Monuments Act of 1904. The Cenotaph in memory of the residents of Cochin who fell in the First Great War was erected in 1920 and was unveiled by the Governor of Madras on 21st October of that year. The boundary walls were erected in 1924. In 1947, the congregation joined the Protestant Church of South India (CSI). 

Being a modest unpretentious structure, it has no particular architectural merit, but it stands as a land mark of history and church architecture of India. Numerous churches has been built on the Indian soil keeping the St. Francis church as the model. It has been raised on a plan similar to the earlier types prevalent in Kerala though in elevation it has discarded the idea of dominating tower over the chancel.

It is a lofty edifice with a gabled timber-framed roof covered with tiles. Facing the west, it has a semi-circular arched entrance and windows  above. The facade is impressive, flanked on either side by a stepped pinnacle. There is a bell-turret on the summit of the gable-front, divided into three compartments. Inside the chancel is divided from the nave by a plain arched opening and the top of the chancel roof is crowned by two stepped pinnacles. It exhibits an architecture of arch.