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 VERAPOLY

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VERAPOLY

olony, Vera Cruz was considered of such importance, nd Christianity had made such headway, that the stablishment of a bishopric was thought advisable, n consequence, the viceroy, Martin Enriquez, rought over a royal decree in which the name of 'at her Fray Domingo Tineo Dominico was pre- ented for the bishopric; but when his nomination .•as received in 1567, a year had already elapsed ince the candidate had died at Puebla. While lassing through Vera Cruz, Bishop Luis de Penalver f New Orleans, who had been promoted to the .letropolitan See of Guatemala, was asked by the Church Board of Vera Cruz to visit the coast of lotavento which had not been visited by a bishop for

period of forty years; Bishop Peiialver complied fith this request and in his report showed the ne- essity of establishing a bishopric in that country with '^era Cruz as its episcopal see. This request was empts were also made in 18.3.5 and 184.5; finally, 'ius IX, in a secret consistory on 19 March, 186.3, amed Francisco Suarez Peredo, Bishop of Vera >uz, and the bishop established his residence in alapa, the city in which his successor still resides. 'he parishes of this diocese were taken from the iishopric of Puebla and Oaxaca; since its establish- ment it has always been suffragan of the Archbishoj)- ic of Mexico. It has a seminary with a few alumni; 7 parochial schools and 11 Catholic colleges which ave about 5205 students; it has 61 parishes and 3 lermanent vicariates. There are 3 Protestant col- his diocese. The most important city of the Dio- ese is Vera Cruz, the principal seaport of the Re- lublic of Mexico, situated not far from the town 3unded by Cortes. Only a few ruins are left to-day attest the good work inspired bj- the faithful of the imes, where stood a great many convents at the ime of the colony. It was there that the Franciscan fathers, the Dominican Fathers, the Barefooted Car- lehtes, and other orders made their residences.
 * ranted in 1S04 but was never fulfilled. Futile at-
 * ges with 113 students and 5 Protestant churches in

Vera, CnterUmo geag.-hist. estadist, de hi Iglesia Mexicana imecameca, 1881).

Camillus Crivelli.

Verapoly, .Vrchdioce.se of (Verapolitan.'v), on he .Malabar Coast, India, having the Dioce.se of Juilon as suiTragan, extends northwards to the River 'onany, southwards to the Rani River, bounded n the east by the (Ihaut line and on the west by the ndian Ocean. The Catholic population within the onfines of the archdiocese is divifled into two parts -those of the Syrian Rite, called Thomas Christians, ?ho are under the personal (and quasi-territorial) urisdiction of the three Vicars Apostolic of Trichur, Crnakulam, and Changanacherrj-; and those of the jatin Rite, originally converts of the Portuguese mis- ionaries, who are territorially under the jurisdiction if the archbishop. These latter form a Catholic lopulation of 75,380, having 31 churches and 25 hapels, served by 25 European Fathers of the Car- nelitc Order (mostly Spani.ards), about 40 native eoilar priests of the L.atm Rite, and 6 of the SvTian lite. There are besides in mona-stic enclosure 10 Carmelite Fathers of the First Order and 12 of the rhird Order, making a total of al)out 00 priests. Usn 10 Carmelite Nuns of the Third ')rd(r, 6 Brothers if St. Teresa, and 15 catcclii.-:ts. Candidates for the (riesthood are sent partly to St. .Joseph's Central ieminar\-, Puttenpally, under the direction of the !^armelite Fathers, and partly to Kandy. The irchbi..;hop's present residence is at Em.akul.am in he Cochin State, but the cathedr.al is at Verapoly.

HiMnry. — This district w.aa occupied in the first nstanco by a large community of Christians claiming o have been converted by St. Thoma,*) the .Apostle, ind using a Syrian Rite. These were brought tinder he jurisdiction of the Portuguese after the Synod of

Diamper in 1599, and ruled by .lesuit archbishops at Angamalc, and afterwards at Cranganore. After a few years there arose a factional dispute which led to a revolt of practically the whole community. Car- melite missionaries were sent by Alexander VI in 1637 to bring about a reconciliation between the people and the Jesuits; but failing this they managed at least to bring the majority of them into ecc'lesias- tical unity under their own rule. Thereupon the Carmelites (under Propaganda) were placed in full charge of the Syrian Christians, while those of the Latin Rite, who had been converted by Portuguese missionaries, were attached to the Diocese of Cochin. When the Dutch in lt)63 drove the Portuguese out of Cochin, the Carmelites extended their care to the Latin Christians in Dutch territory. After 1700 the See of Cranganore acquired once more the allegiance of a certain portion of the Syrian Christians — the rest, with the Latin Christians, remaining under the Car- melite Vicar Apostolic of Verapoly or Malabar. Dur- ing this time tlie lines between the two jurisdictions were practically indefinite, and the faithful passed freely from one side to the other. In more recent times the vicar Apostolic had, besides Malabar, active centres along the coast northwards up to Portuguese limits, including Mangalore and Carwar; and there was a free intercluange of missionaries between the Malabar .and the Bombay vicariates. In 1838 by the Brief Miilla prwdarc jurisdiction was totally with- drawn from the Portuguese Sees of Cochin and Cran- ganore, and transferred to the Vicar Apostolic of Malabar, though in many places the Portuguese clergy still remained in possession and maintained their claims to jurisdiction as derived from Goa.

The Vicariate of Verapoly, which extended in- definitely even as far as Tanjore, w.os curtailed by dividing off the Vicariate of Quilon in 1S45, and the Vicariate of Mangalore in 1853. Further retrench- ments occurred when the hierarchy was established in 1886. By this act Verapoly was made into an archbishopric; Quilon became a .suffragan bishopric; the pnihncdii Diocese of Cochin was restored, but with limits much smaller than formerly; the next year the Syrian Christians were assigned to two new vicars Apostolic of the Latin Rite at Kottayam and Trichur, who thus took the place of the suppressed See of Cr.anganore; and only Latin Christians in the remain- ing territory were left to form the Archdiocese of Verapoly,

Succession of Vicars Apostolic (all Carmelites): — J.iseph a Sta. Maria de Sebastiani 1656 (1661), re- tired before the Dutch in 1663; Alexander de Campo, 1663-1678; Thom.as de Castro, 1675-1684; Raphael de Figuredo Salgado, 1681, retired on account of qu.arrels in 1694; Angelus Francis of St, Teresa, 1700, was in 1709 entitled "Vicar Apostolic of Cranganore and Cochin" on account of long vacancy of those sees, died 1712; John Baptist Multedo of St, Teresa, 1714-1750; Florence of Jesus of Nazareth, 17.50-1773; Fr.ancis de Sales a Matre Doloro.sa, 1774-1787; John Mary of St. Thomas, 1780 (died before consecration); John Mary of Jesus, 1784 (death not marked) ; Raymond of St. Joseph, 180.3-1816; Miles Prcnder- gast, 1819, resigned 1831; F'rancis Xavier Pc.^cetto of St. Anne, 1831-1844; Ludovico Nartini of St. Teresa, lS:i9, resigned 18.59; Bernardino Bacciiielli of St. Teresa, 1817 (18.50), ISfiS, received arcliici)iscnpal rank; Lermardo Mellano of St, Louis, ISlis, riicived archiepiscop.al rank 1860, became first .Vrchbisho]) of Verapoly in 1887, died 1897; Bernard of Jesus, present archbishop since 1897.

Religious Institutions. — For Men. — St. Teresa's Monastery, Em.akulam, with 7 Discalced Cannelite Fathers of the First Order .and 3 lay brothers; Monas- tery of the Immaculate (!oncei)tion, Magnunicl, near Ver.apoly, with 9 Tortiarj' Carmelite Fathers, ,uid lay brothers, besides novices; St, Philomcna's Monasteryt