Church · Fort Kochi
Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica, Fort Cochin
A granite pillar from 1505 stands at its southeastern corner.
Santa Cruz Basilica is a Catholic cathedral basilica on Bastian Street in Fort Kochi, a short walk from Princess Street. Two white spires mark it from the street. The church is open daily from 9am to 1pm and again from 3pm to 5pm, and entry is free. It shuts from 1pm to 3pm, so plan for the morning or the late afternoon.
Look up at the ceiling. Its paintings show scenes from the Via Crucis, the Stations of the Cross. Seven large canvas paintings show the Passion and the death on the Cross, and one Last Supper is inspired by Leonardo da Vinci. The main altar and these paintings were made by the Italian Jesuit Fr Antonio Moscheni and his disciple Fr De Gama of Mangalore. The church also has stained glass windows.
The foundation stone was laid in May 1505, on the feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross, which gave the church its name. One granite pillar from that first church still stands at the southeast corner of the grounds. In 1663 the Dutch took Kochi, spared this church, and made it an arms storehouse. The British expelled the Dutch in 1795 and used the building as a warehouse. It was demolished that year. The present church replaced it and was inaugurated in November 1905.
Pope John Paul II raised the church to basilica status in 1984, by a decree dated 23 August that year. Videography is not allowed inside, and there is no dedicated parking, so expect to walk.
A basilica since 1984, under the decree Constat Sane Templum Sanctae Cruci.
What the cats hear
Worth knowing
- No dedicated parking.
- Videography not allowed inside.
What visitors liked
- Ceiling paintings, architecture and artwork.
- Peaceful, calming atmosphere.
- Historical significance.
Did you know
When the Dutch took Kochi in 1663 they pulled down almost every Catholic church in the area. They spared St. Francis because they wanted it to pray in — and spared Santa Cruz because they wanted somewhere to keep weapons.
When the Protestant Dutch captured Cochin from the Roman Catholic Portuguese in 1663, they demolished almost every grand Catholic church in the region but spared the Cathedral of Santa Cruz. They used it as a warehouse for sugar from Batavia (Jakarta), cinnamon from Ceylon (Sri Lanka), nutmegs, cloves, pepper, and iron, and turned its high tower into a military flagstaff. Dutch records also say that on weekdays, during special emergencies, it was used as a slave godown to hold enslaved people who had been captured and sold.
Colonial Cochin had a large permanent gallows beside the Santa Cruz Cathedral warehouse near the river. About a mile away, a low island in the backwater called Gallows’ Island served as the site for military executions and later as a burial ground for paupers.
The Italian Jesuit painter Fr Antonio Moscheni died on 15 November 1905, four days before the cathedral was inaugurated.
The ceiling paintings show scenes from the Via Crucis, the Stations of the Cross.
Pope John Paul II made the church a basilica by a decree dated 23 August 1984.
The Dutch spared the church after taking Kochi in 1663 and used it as an arms storehouse.
One granite pillar from the original church is preserved at the southeast corner of the basilica grounds.
The foundation stone of Santa Cruz was laid in May 1505, on the feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross.
What’s on
Santa Cruz Basilica Feast
26 – 31 December 202626 – 31 December 2027
Guides
3
Readings
1Events
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Drawn from OpenStreetMap, by its contributors.
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