VIJAYAPURAM, DIOCESE OF. - In the south-western part of India, it borders on the dioceses of Quilon, Madura, Coimbatore, Verapoly, Cochin and Alleppey.
The first evangelization of the district of Kottayam, which later contributed to forming the diocese of V., is due to the Spanish Carmelite Giuseppe Maria (1863-74) of the apostolic vicariate (now archdiocese) of Verapoly and, subsequently, to two Carmelite tertiaries, who succeeded in converting a certain number of pagans. But a true missionary apostolate was possible only from 1887, when, once the archdiocese of Verapoly had been erected, it was freed from all jurisdiction over the faithful of the Syro-Malabar rite. The movement of conversions proved more notable from 1905 onward, that is, from when a methodical organization was given to missionary activity under the direction of Msgr. Bernardo Argunzonis, first a missionary and then archbishop of Verapoly (1897-1919). On 14 July 1930, by detachment from the archdiocese of Verapoly, of which it was declared a suffragan, the diocese of V. was erected (from the name of a suburb of Kottayam, the center of the mission). At the same time the archdiocese of Verapoly was handed over to the native secular clergy, though under the temporary jurisdiction of that archbishop. It should be noted that within the boundaries of the diocese there also extend the dioceses of Changanacherry, Ernakulam and Kottayam of the Syro-Malabar rite and the diocese of Tiruvalla of the Syro-Malankara rite. It is entrusted to the Discalced Carmelites of the province of Navarre (Spain).
The statistics of 1952 provide the following data: 2 million inhabitants, of whom 58,261 are Latin Catholics, 464,000 Eastern Catholics, 261,560 Eastern dissidents, 174,375 Protestants, 85,425 Muslims and the rest pagans. The priests of the Latin rite are 41: 25 native secular priests and 16 Spanish Carmelite religious; seminarians: 5 in the minor seminary of Verapoly and 12 in the major seminary of Alwaye; 60 nuns, almost all native; 50 catechists, 79 masters and 100 mistresses with a total of 7,384 pupils in the elementary schools and 900 students in the middle schools. The diocese of V. has an area of 8,000 sq km and is ecclesiastically divided into 4 districts, 29 parishes, 3 primary stations and 43 secondary ones. There are 33 churches and 30 chapels. There are 3 orphanages and 2 printing houses, in which about thirty workers are employed; the confraternities are numerous, the associations of Catholic Action few. The work of conversion proceeds slowly amid difficulties of every kind.
Bibliography
Pompeo Borgna