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St. Joseph's Cathedral, Trivandrum

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St. Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral
File:St. Joseph's Cathedral, Trivandrum 01.jpg
8°30′16″N 76°57′06″E / 8.504311°N 76.951571°E
Location Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram
Country India
Denomination Roman Catholic
Website www.stjosephmetropolitancathedraltrivandrum.org
History
Status Cathedral
Founded 4 May 1873
Dedication Saint Joseph
Events Papal visit, 1986[1]
Architecture
Functional status active
Style Gothic
Administration
Province Archdiocese of Trivandrum
Archdiocese Archdiocese of Trivandrum
Clergy
Archbishop Most Rev. Dr. Thomas J. Netto

St. Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral, also known as Palayam Palli, is the Roman Catholic Latin Rite cathedral of the Archdiocese of Trivandrum. The first church was built here in 1873. The church was intended in the manner of a cross in 1912. The final stage of extension, including the Gothic style facade and the bell-tower was completed in 1927. The three bells were brought from Belgium and were named Joseph, Xavier, and Aloysius in honour of, respectively, Saint Joseph, the patron of the church; Saint Francis Xavier, the apostle of India; and Bishop Aloysius Maria Benziger, the pioneer missionary-bishop of Quilon. Upon the bifurcation of the Diocese of Quilon, the new Diocese of Trivandrum was formed on 1 July 1937, and St. Joseph's Church became the cathedral of the newly formed diocese. When the diocese was raised to a metropolitan archdiocese in 2004, the cathedral became a metropolitan cathedral. The cathedral has a statue of its patron St. Joseph with the Child Jesus in the middle of the facade and a statue of Jesus with hands raised atop the tower. The church which is white in colour was painted red from 1927 to 2010. It was renovated during the period 2008 to 2010.[2]

References