Situated on the south-west coast of India, Kochi or Cochin is a bustling commercial port city with a trading history that dates back to at least 600 years. Called as the Queen of the Arabian Sea, the city is the financial, commercial and industrial capital of Kerala. Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama becomes the first European to reach India via the Atlantic Ocean when he arrives at Calicut on the Malabar Coast.The Portuguese explorer was not greeted warmly by the Muslim merchants of Calicut, and in 1499 he had to fight his way out of the harbor on his return trip home. In 1502, he led a squadron of ships to Calicut to avenge the massacre of his sailors there and succeeded in subduing the locals. In 1524, he was sent as viceroy to India, but he fell ill and died in Cochin.
St. Francis Church was built back in 1503, and was the first Portuguese church in India. Founded by Pedro Alvarez De Cabral, it has been built in a Persian architectural style, much like most other churches constructed in Kochi.The original church was made of wood, and was named St. Bartholomew, but it went through a renovation in 1516, and was then renamed as we know it today.
