Tourism News
Vallarpadam church made national pilgrim centre
The Catholic Bishop's Conference of
India (CBCI) has raised the historic Church of Our Lady of Ransom at Vallarpadam
Island in Kochi to the status of a National Pilgrim Centre. The President of the
Catholic Bishops? Conference of India, Archbishop Cardinal Telesphore P. Topo,
recently handed over the related documents to the Archbishop of Varappuzha, Dr.
Daniel Acharuparampil.
Addressing a press meet, Dr. Daniel
Acharuparampil said that the elevation of the status of the historic Marian
pilgrim destination on the Vallarpadam Island to a national pilgrim centre is
the precursor towards Rome declaring it a minor basilica of the Catholic Church.
The CBCI has already sent the details regarding this to the Vatican.
The
Church of Our Lady of Ransom, which belongs to the Archdiocese of Verapoly, was
established by the Portuguese missionaries in 1524. The Old Church, then known
as the Church of Holy Spirit, is supposed to have been destroyed in a flood in
the late 17th century and a new church was built on the same spot in 1676. It
was declared a special church by Pope Leo XIII in 1888 and in 1951 the Union
Government declared it a major pilgrim centre.
