Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Chathiath was built in the late 17th century. This legendry structure has a history of decades. In fact, history of this church is in a way, history of the growth of Catholic church in the state of Kerala. Thomas, one of the Apostles of Jesus Christ landed at Mussaries (now Kodungalloor) in Kerala and propagated Christianity. Due to the efforts of the Saint, local
people converted to Christianity in large numbers. Those converted people were called Nazarenes, meaning followers of Jesus of Nazareth. This was the beginning of Christianity in Kerala. Matheus founded the church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Chathiath. He opted to construct the church at Chathiath mainly for the following reasons
(1) Chathiath was very near to Ernakulam which was the capital of the
Kingdom of Kochi and at the same time just outside the Dutch territory
where construction of any Catholic Religious institution was totally prohibited
(2) The place was easily accessible as it was on river side
(3) Compared to other nearby places this area had a very beautiful landscape. (4) Land for construction of the church was donated by the local Chieftain and landlord of Cheranelloor Sri Varekatt Kaimal. Construction of the church was completed in 1673. The church has many specialities. This is the first Parish church constructed by Carmelite Missionaries in India. It was constructed in Corinthian style and is in the shape of a cross. Construction was done without any mechanical help. Walls were made using red stone with mortar of lime sand and locally made gums. The statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel installed in the Altar was brought from Spain. There were three Altars. Walls of the Altars and the roof carried beautiful paintings from biblical situations. There was a pulpit for giving sermons during Holy Mass. Unfortunately during the renovation and maintenance works, the two Altars on the sides, paintings, pulpit etc were removed. Originally this parish had a very wide jurisdiction. Later on administration of the parish was decentralized and the following parishes were established.
1. John the Baptist Church, Palarivattom - 1849
2. Augustine’s Church, Moolampilly - 1875
3. Francis Xavier’s Church, Ponel - 1890
4. Little Flower Church, Pottakuzhy - 1926
5. Antony’s Church, Vaduthala - 1931
6. Holy Family Church, S. Chittoor - 1948
7. Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Mamangalam - 1953
In spite of all these bifurcations, the parish of Chathiath retains the honour of being the largest parish in the Archdioceses of Verapoly.
