St. Peter's Church Moothakkara

bosco francis 60 months ago

Serene and calm place for a Divine place. Along side the beach with sea breeze blowing gently. I've posted the holy mass timings and prayer hours in pictures. There's also a brief history on the stone

jOhnthOmasedisOn 15 months ago

The history of Moothakara is interwoven with that of the Christians of Quilon. In 1610 the first Church of Moothakara was built which is believed to have been swept away by the sea. In 1778 De Clements Joseph S.J. the Bishop of Cochin who was not allowed to enter Cochin settled down in Moothakara. A chapel and residence was built in 1780 by Fr. Salvador Dennis. Bishop Joseph stayed here and in 1791 he died and was buried in the Church. In the 19th century Christians from Tamil Nadu (Bharatha Christians from Tuticorin) migrated to Moothakara for fish vending. It is believed that the Tamil connections of Moothakara dates back to the 17th century. Jesuit missionaries report of a parava Christian community in Quilon in the 17th century. The feast of St. Peter in Moothakara is unique because on that day as the sea is symbolically opened with the keys of Peter by the Parish Priest. Devotion to Infant Jesus started in 1987 and now Moothakara is a pilgrim centre much to the credit of Rt. Rev. Msgr. Marshal Paliath. The new Church was built by Rev. Fr. Antony John and blessed in 1998 by Bishop Joseph Fernandez.

It is found being recorded in the Catholic Directory of India that St. Peter’s Church of Moothakara was established in 1610. Moothakara was a mission centre. At this place, there were fairly a large number of Jesuit missionaries who had to face acute tribulation from the Dutch. For a long period, they had to stay at Kollam and Kottar. The Bishops of Cochin had stayed at Moothakara. Late Bishop of Cochin, Rt. Rev. Clement Jose Colossileithane of Portuguese was buried at the Moothakara Church in 1771 January 31. The Latin tablet which is kept at the church bears testimony to this fact. This information has been recorded in the Travancore Archelogical series ( Volume 8, page 103). Many people still do not know this truth. It was this Bishop, who had intimated the Holy See about the Martyr, Devasahayam Pillai through continous correspondence. On account of that Devasahayan Pillai has been elevated as blessed now. St. Peter’s Church of Moothakara was renovated in 1780. The earlier parishioners were the converted Christians from the Hindu Bharatha Community. The Old generation believes that seven families were the first to come to this Church but some dispute that there were fourteen families. But history proves that Bharathas have come alone as well as with their families at Travancore. There was a bronze-Curfew made in Venice, weighing more than 100 kg in the Church. It had engraved the pictures of twelve Apostles and other Christian symbols. Earlier foreign priests had served at Moothakara.

Eldho P Babuji 12 months ago

This church is famous for kids..