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, St. Joseph, the patron of the church; St. 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]
| St. Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral | |
|---|---|
 | |
  St. Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral Location of the cathedral in Kerala | |
| 8°30′16″N 76°57′06″E / 8.504311°N 76.951571°E | |
| Location | Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram |
| Country | India |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Status | Cathedral |
| Founded | 4 May 1873 |
| Dedication | St. 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 |
Gallery
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Palayam Juma Mosque and St.Joseph's Cathedral as seen from Chandrashekharan Nair Stadium -
St. Joseph's cathedral at night -
St. Joseph's cathedral -
St. Joseph's cathedral at night from across the road -
St. Joseph's Metropolitan Cathedral Palayam - Thiruvananthapuram
References
edit- ^ Address of John Paul II during the visit to Saint Joseph's Cathedral in the diocese of Trivandrum
- ^ "St. Joseph's Cathedral undergoes a makeover". The Hindu. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
External links
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