Calicut [Kozhikode], Diocese of

CALICUT [KOZHIKODE], Diocese of. - It is a suffragan diocese of Bombay in India: it comprises almost all of Malabar with an area of 8,500 km², and a population of about 3,000,000; the territory is almost entirely flat, rich in plantations (tea, coffee, rubber): about a third of the population are "Moplas," a hybrid Muslim race, originating as a result of the Arab immigrations of the 9th century; the rest are natives of Malayali race and language, divided into three classes: Nambudiri, or Brahmin, landowners; Nayars, devoted to military service; and Tiyans, coconut cultivators, originally from Ceylon. There are also about 2,000 aboriginal hunters. The history of the diocese of C., up to 1923, is indistinguishable from that of Mangalore (v.) and from those of Coimbatore (v.) and Mysore (v.), from whose territory it was constituted in that year. At that time the new diocese - directed by Italian Jesuits - counted 7,200 Christians, distributed among several mission stations, some of which still dated back to the era of Portuguese rule; the three largest - C., Cannanore and Tellicherry - came to it from Mangalore, evangelized by the Jesuits; the other five from the two other missions, directed by the fathers of the Paris Foreign Missions. The principal difficulties were, and in part still are: the dispersion and fluctuation of the population, the resistance of the Islamism of the Moplas, the family-social system of property, which binds the spiritual freedom of its members.

The activity of the missionaries in this first twenty-year period was directed both at providing the youth of the city with schools of the various grades, and at penetrating into the outlying regions by establishing resident missionaries in the old residences and preparing new ones. The Italian Jesuits of the Venetian-Milanese province are assisted, for the female and charitable institutions, by the sisters of the Apostolic Carmel, who are natives, by the Sisters of Charity of the b. Capitanio, by the Ursulines of Mary Immaculate and by the Brigidines for the work of perpetual adoration and by others.

According to the statistics of 1947 the personnel consists of 29 Jesuit priests, 8 Carmelites and 32 diocesan priests, besides 25 Jesuit brothers and 29 Carmelite brothers. The sisters number 206, of whom only 22 are Italian and one Swiss and the others native. Native Catholics number 32,031, foreign 53, of mixed stock 1,486, Oriental dissidents 5,456, Protestants 12,800, Muslims 1,002,000, pagans 1,946,000. The parishes number 21, primary stations 20, secondary 58. Elementary schools 24 with 2,467 pupils; middle schools 19 with 5,052 pupils; higher schools 11 with 5,189 pupils; vocational 3 with 81 pupils; teacher-training 3 with 87 female pupils. The following periodicals are published there: The Eucharistic Crusade with 3,700 copies, Leaders' Bulletin with 475 copies, Shrine Visitor with 800 copies. Catholic associations and charitable works are also highly developed.

Giovanni B. Tragella