St. Philomena's Forane Church, Koonammavu

St. Philomena's Forane Church, popularly known as Koonammavu Church is situated in Koonammavu, a northern suburban town of Kochi City of Kerala state, India. This is one of the oldest Roman Catholic churches in India, built in 1837 AD. Even though the church is dedicated to the Virgin Philomena, Saint Chavara Achan's feast is celebrated in every year as the annual festival, a nine-day festival lasting from 26 December to 3 January along with Holy Christmas and the New Year. The church is also popular among non-Christians as a pilgrimage centre and this seventh Forane of Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Verapoly serves as the Catholic Forane Church of 12 churches listed below.^[1]

1. Church of Our Lady of Velankanni, Chariyamthuruth
2. Christ the King Church-Christnagar, Varapuzha
3. St. Antony's Church, Kongorpilly, Koonammavu.
4. Church of Our Lady of Rosary, Maloth, Koonammavu
5. Church of Our Lady of Nativity, Muttinakam, Varapuzha
6. St. Joseph's Church, Neerikode, Alangad.
7. Little Flower Church, Panayikulam
8. Sacred Heart Church, Thevarkad, Varapuzha.
9. Infant Jesus Church, Thundathumkadavu, Varapuzha.
10. Amalolbhavamatha Church, Valluvally, Koonammavu
11. Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Joseph's Minor Basilica, Varapuzha
12. St. Antony's Church, Chennur, Varapuzha.

St. Philomena's Forane Church, Koonammavu
Koonammavu Church
St. Kuriakose Elias Chavara Pilgrimage Centre
St. Philomena's Forane Church, Koonammavu
10.099901°N 76.265577°E / 10.099901; 76.265577
Location	, Koonammavu, Kochi, Kerala-683518
Country	India
Denomination	Roman Catholic Latin Rite
Churchmanship	High Church
Membership	1232
Website	www.stphilomenaschurchkoonammavu.org www.verapoly.in www.archdiocese.in/church
History
Status	Forane, Pilgrimage
Founded	1837; 187 years ago (1837)
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Administration
District	VII
Province	Verapoly
Archdiocese	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly
Circuit	Order of Discalced Carmelites (OCD)
Clergy
Archbishop	Dr. Joseph Kalathiparambil
Rector	Fr. Dixon Fernandez
Vicar(s)	Fr. Dixon Fernandez
Assistant priest(s)	Fr. Joby Alapppat

^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]}

See also

• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly
• Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health
• National Shrine Basilica of Our Lady of Ransom, Vallarpadam
• Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Joseph's Minor Basilica, Varapuzha
• Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church, Manjummel
• Latin Church
• Catholic particular churches and liturgical rites

References

1. http://www.archdiocese.in/church www.archdiocese.in/church
2. "St Chavara was a Great Visionary: CM". Archived from the original on 19 November 2015.
3. Martin, K. a. (24 November 2014). "Koonammavu turns into a sea of people". The Hindu.
4. "Chavara history wrongly interpreted, say Kerala Latin leaders | UCAN India". www.ucanindia.in. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014.
5. "Faithful Flock to Koonammavu". Archived from the original on 9 July 2015.
6. "KERALA PSC ONLINE: QUIZ - Fr. CHAVARA KURIAKOSE". 24 November 2014.
7. http://www.manoramanews.com/nattuvartha/central/koonammavu-celebates-canonization-of-father-chavara.html ^{[bare URL]}
8. "ചാവറയച്ചന്റെ സ്മരണയില്‍ കൂനമ്മാവ് ജനസാഗരമായി".
9. "കൂനമ്മാവ് തീര്‍ഥാടനകേന്ദ്രം: വികസന മാസ്റ്റര്‍പ്ലാന്‍ മുഖ്യമന്ത്രിക്കു സമര്‍പ്പിച്ചു".
10. "നൂറ്റാണ്ടുകളുടെ പൈതൃകം പേറി കൂനമ്മാവ്‌ പള്ളി മണി". 16 March 2015. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.

External links

• www.stphilomenaschurchkoonammavu.org Archived 4 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine
• www.verapoly.in