9°57′53″N 76°14′34″E / 9.964774°N 76.242738°E
Diocese of Cochin Dioecesis Coccinensis കൊച്ചി രൂപത | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
| Country |  , India |
| Ecclesiastical province | Verapoly |
| Headquarters | Fort Cochin |
| Coordinates | 9°57′53″N 76°14′34″E / 9.964774°N 76.242738°E |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 235 km2 (91 sq mi) |
| Population - Total - Catholics | (as of 2024) 562,746 174855 (32.3%) |
| Parishes | 51 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 4 February 1557 |
| Cathedral | Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica in Fort Cochin |
| Patron saint | Holy Cross, St Francis Xavier |
| Secular priests | 175 |
| Language | Malayalam, English |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | Joseph Kariyil |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Joseph Kalathiparambil |
| Bishops emeritus | John Thattumkal Bishop Emeritus (2000–2009) |
| Website | |
| Website | |
The Diocese of Cochin (Latin: Dioecesis Coccinensis) ( കൊച്ചി രൂപത )is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the city of Cochin, India. Established in the year 1557, The Roman catholic Diocese Of Cochin is the second diocese in India after the Arch Diocese Of Goa. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Verapoly. The diocese serves Latin Catholics of Malabar.
The territory of the Diocese of Cochin covers 235 square kilometres in the state of Kerala. It is situated between the Arabian Sea in the west, the Archdiocese of Verapoly in the north and in the east, and the Diocese of Alleppey in the south.
The diocese's cathedral church and cathedral of the Bishop of Cochin is Santa Cruz Basilica, Fort Cochin. The current bishop is Joseph Kariyil, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on 8 May 2009.
The history of the Diocese of Cochin[1][2] begins with the arrival of the Portuguese Missionaries in India. These neo-apostles reached Kappad near Kozhikode on 20 May 1498, along with Vasco Da Gama.[citation needed]
The diocese of Cochin was established by the papal bull pro excellenti praeeminentia issued by Pope Paul IV on 4 February 1558 as one of two new suffragan dioceses (the other being Diocese of Malacca) to the Archdiocese of Goa.[3]
