The king of Kochi, in 1503 AD, permitted Alphonso Alburquerque to construct Fort Kochi. Alphonso Alburquerque also built a church inside it.
It was a wooden church, dedicated to St. Bartholomew. Hereinafter the construction of the church started and finally reached the completion by
1516 AD. In fact, before getting permission of the king of Kochi to build a formal & long-lasting church building, a rudimentary church was
built of mud & wood. After formal permission from the king of Kochi, the Portuguese built the ‘pucca’ church. The Portuguese entered Kochi
with Admiral Pedro Alvarez de Cabral. Their leader Vasco De Gama made the path easier for them. But, then again in 1516 AD, the church was
dedicated to St. Antony and built again.
Further, several new changes happened in the church again in 1603 AD when the Dutch invaded the city and destroyed all churches and convents again. But, the Dutch left St. Francis Church untouched. After about two centuries, the church was surrendered by the Dutch to the Anglicans in 1804 AD. It was voluntarily surrendered to them and post that it was placed under the Ecclesiastical Department of Government of India. The Anglicans changed the name of the church to St. Francis. Finally, it became the protected monument in 1923 under the Protected Monuments Act of 1904. Now, it is owned by Kochi Diocese of Church of South India. Also, it is under Archaeological Survey of India.
Though St. Francis Church is one of the oldest churches in India and was built during rudimentary stages of evolution of church architecture but still some details of the same cannot be missed out. The roof of the church is timber-framed and covered with tiles. All the doors and windows have semi circular arches. Facades are there on either side by a stepped pinnacle. The bell turret inside St. Francis Church is divided into three compartments. The floor of the church is entirely made of stones. More or less, decoration inside the church is very less. It has significantly quite less decorative elements in contrast to other typical European churches. But, the interiors of the church are totally depictive of the ancient European architecture. In northern side of the wall, there are gravestones of the Portuguese and, on southern side of the wall, there are gravestones of the Dutch. Also, Vasco De Gama, a Portuguese explorer who died in Kochi, had a gravestone inside the church which is a major attraction of St. Francis Church. Fourteen years after Vasco De Gama’s death, his remains were taken back to Lisbon. Even though his remains had been taken away from the church, but, the burial spot and tombstone inside the church attract a large cache of visitors.
Inside the church, there is a war memorial built in memory of Kochi soldiers and warriors who lost their lives in World War-I. This is another major attraction of the church for the tourists and travellers.
The distance of St. Francis Church from Ernakulum is 13 km. It is accessible by boat and bus. The nearest railway station is Kochi junction railway station. It is located in Fort Kochi which is another major attraction of the city. The surrounding of St. Francis Church is called as Fort Kochi area. There is no entry fee for entering the church. The visiting time of the church is from 7 AM to 6.30 PM on all days and from 8.30 AM to 6.30 PM on Sundays. On every Sunday of the week, a special mass is organised for the believers of the CSI following. Reaching the church is quite easy via ferry, bus, or even a private taxi. The location of the church is known by every local person as it is inside the Fort Kochi and hence reaching the place would not be a problem at all.