VIJAYAPURAM, DIOCESE of. — In the southwestern part of India, it borders the dioceses of Quilon, Madura, Coimbatore, Verapoly, Cochin, and Alleppey.
The first evangelization of the district of Kottayam, which later helped to form 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 became 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 became more significant beginning in 1905, that is, when missionary activity was given a methodical organization under the direction of Msgr. Bernardo Argunzonis, first a missionary and then archbishop of Verapoly (1897–1919). On 14 July 1930, by separation from the archdiocese of Verapoly, of which it was declared a suffragan, the diocese of V. was erected (named after a suburb of Kottayam, the mission’s center). At the same time, the archdiocese of Verapoly was transferred 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 Navarra (Spain).
The statistics for 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 remainder pagans. There are 41 priests of the Latin rite: 25 indigenous secular priests and 16 Spanish Carmelite religious; seminarians: 5 in the minor seminary of Verapoly and 12 in the major seminary of Alwaye; 60 women religious, almost all indigenous; 50 catechists, 79 male teachers, and 100 female teachers, with a total of 7,384 pupils in the elementary schools and 900 students in the secondary schools. The diocese of V. covers 8,000 sq. km. and is ecclesiastically divided into 4 districts, 29 parishes, 3 primary stations, and 43 secondary stations. There are 33 churches and 30 chapels. There are 3 orphanages and 2 printing presses, employing about thirty workers; confraternities are numerous, while associations of Catholic Action are few. The work of conversion proceeds slowly amid difficulties of every kind.