St. Francis Church Cochin

Adding charm to Cochin, the St. Francis Church was the first church constructed in the European style. It was built in 1510 by the Europeans in the honour of Santo Antonio, a great saint of Portugal. It is located in Cochin. Raised from granite, the church has peaceful garden where you can spend some quality time. Originally it was called St. Antonio Church but later it was renamed as St. Francis Church in the year 1663. It was transformed into a protestant church by the Dutch who remodelled it. The Dutch exercised control over the church till 1795. Later it got the tag of Anglican church and finally it joined the churches of South India in 1949.

It is said that Vasco-da-Gama, a celebrated Portuguese explorer arrived in India in Cochin in the year 1502. He died here in 1524 and was buried in the  St. Francis Church. From here his remains were transported to Portuguese in 1538. You must see his gravestone in the complex of the church.

The other attractions of St. Francis Church are its beautiful paintings and graves of Portuguese nobles. Regular worship meetings are conducted on every Sunday and on historically important days.