St. Francis Church, Fort Kochi
St. Francis CSI church a.k.a Vasco da Gama Church in Kochi is the oldest European church in India with a great historical significance.
Important Info
- Open hours (Mon – Sat) : 10 AM – 5 PM
- Open hours (Sun) : 12 PM – 5 PM
- Entry Fee : NIL
- Time Required : 1 hr
- Best Time : Always
- English Mass : 8 AM
- Malayalam Mass : 9.30 AM
St. Francis church was built by Portuguese and been here for over a period of 500 years. Also, the famous explorer of all time Vasco da Gama was initially buried in this church.
This church is situated in the heart of Fort Kochi, the Queen of Arabian sea. The church was originally constructed in 1503 by Franciscan missionaries who came along with the Portuguese expedition. It is built in a Persian Architectural style.
The church was initially built with wood. But it went through a modification in 1516 AD where the woods got replaced by stones to present form. This church is highly related to India’s colonial history.
Travel Tips
- Visitors are required to leave the footwear outside the main entrance of the Church
- Fort Kochi beach is the nearest tourist attraction
- Visitors not allowed to enter Alter
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Detailed Information
The St. Francis church is well-known for the tomb of Vasco da Gama situated inside the church. He died in 1524 in Kochi during his third visit to India and his body was buried in this church. 14 years later in 1538, the remains of Gama was taken back to his hometown Lisbon by his family. But visitors can still see the gravestone of Vasco da Gama here.
Inside the church, you can see an ancient fan made of cloth, which is preserved through all these years. The high ceiling of church gives you an impression of a very old building. The northern and southern walls of church have gravestones of Portuguese and Dutch which were removed from the floors of the nave.
