From the archive record
View of Santa Cruz Basilica Church at Fort Kochi in Cochin. One can see devotees offering candles inside the church.... The Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica at Fort Kochi is one of the eight Basilicas in India. Counted as one of the heritage edifices of Kerala, this church is one of the finest and most impressive churches in India and visited by tourists the whole year round. It is a place of devotion as well as a center of historic significance, endowed with architectural and artistic grandeur and colours of the gothic style. The basilica serves as the Cathedral church of the Diocese of Cochin, the second oldest Diocese of India. It is close to St. Francis Church. It was built originally by the Portuguese and elevated to a Cathedral by Pope Paul IV in 1558, was spared by the Dutch conquerors