Sarah Mitchell
India has a rich history of Catholicism, dating back to AD 52 when Thomas the Apostle reached the Malabar Coast. The Catholic Church in India is part of the worldwide Catholic Church and has over 20 million followers, making it the country's third-largest religion. There are approximately 174 dioceses in India, including well-known diocese of Lucknow, Madras, and Madurai. These dioceses are organised into 30 ecclesiastical provinces, with the majority being of the Latin Church, followed by the Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara Catholic Churches.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of Catholics in India | 20-24 million |
| Percentage of Indian population that is Catholic | 1.57% |
| Number of parishes | 10,701 |
| Number of dioceses | 174 |
| Number of ecclesiastical provinces | 30 |
| Number of Latin Church dioceses | 132 |
| Number of Syro-Malabar Catholic Church dioceses | 31 |
| Number of Syro-Malankara Catholic Church dioceses | 11 |
| Percentage of Indian Catholics that are Syro-Malabar | 19.7% |
| Percentage of Indian Catholics that are Syro-Malankara | 2% |
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What You'll Learn
India's Catholic population
The history of the Catholic Church in India is fascinating and begins with the arrival of Portuguese missionaries in 1498. At that time, there were no Christians in the country, except for a small community of St. Thomas Christians in Malabar, who represented less than 2% of the total population. The Portuguese missionaries, led by Vasco da Gama, were seeking to form anti-Islamic alliances with pre-existing Christian nations. During their second expedition in 1500, they anchored in Cochin and found the local Christians friendly, with an exchange of gifts between them.
The first Roman Catholic diocese in India was established in Quilon, headquartered at Kollam, on 9 August 1329, and was re-erected on 1 September 1886. It was the first Diocese in the whole of the Indies, suffragan to the Archdiocese of Sultany in Persia. Father Jordanus Catalanus, a French Dominican missionary who followed in 1321–22, reported to Rome that he had given a Christian burial to four martyred monks.
Indian Catholic life is diverse, and the country is often misperceived by foreigners as being culturally and linguistically monolithic. For example, Tamil Nadu, or "Tamil country," is a state in the southeasternmost part of India, home to 72 million people whose native language is Tamil. Kerala, another Indian state, is known for its devotion to St. Sebastian and its religious rituals, such as the INRI Appam on Holy Thursday.
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The Catholic Church in India
Portuguese missionaries introduced the Latin Catholic Church to India when they arrived on the Malabar Coast in the late 15th century. This led to strained relations with the Church, which culminated in the Holy See cancelling the jurisdiction of the suffragan Sees of Crangaqnore, Cochin, and Mylapur in 1838. However, a concordat was established in 1886, and the country was divided into ecclesiastical provinces.
Today, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, an Oriental Church in communion with the Catholic Church, continues the early Christian community's traditions, following the East Syriac traditions. The Syro-Malabar Church makes up around 19.7% of Indian Catholics, while the Syro-Malankara Church accounts for approximately 2.0%. The majority, about 78.3%, belong to the Latin Church.
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The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
The Syro-Malabar Church is the largest Syriac Christian church and the largest Eastern Catholic church, with 4.53 million members worldwide as estimated in the 2023 Annuario Pontificio. It is the largest among Saint Thomas Christians communities, with a population of 2.35 million in Kerala as per the 2011 Kerala state census. The Saint Thomas Christian community has been described as "Indian in culture, Christian in faith and Syriac in liturgy". The church has a strong tradition of vocations to the priesthood and religious life, making it a dynamic Catholic community worldwide.
The Syro-Malabar Church traces its origins to Thomas the Apostle's evangelization efforts in 1st-century AD India. The earliest recorded organised Christian presence in India dates to the 4th century when Persian missionaries of the East Syriac Rite tradition, members of what later became the Church of the East, established themselves in modern-day Kerala and Sri Lanka. The church uses a variant of the East Syriac Rite, which dates back to 3rd-century Edessa, Upper Mesopotamia. As such, it is a part of Syriac Christianity by liturgy and heritage.
The Syro-Malabar Church has a presence in India, with five metropolitan archeparchies and ten suffragan eparchies in Kerala, 17 eparchies in other parts of India, and four eparchies outside India, including the St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago. The church is unique among Catholics in its inculturation with traditional Indian customs through Saint Thomas Christian heritage. Following the emigration of the church's members, eparchies have been established in other parts of India and in other countries to serve the diaspora living in the Western world.
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The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
India is home to a large number of Catholic dioceses, including several eparchies of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church. This church, also known as the Malankara Syrian Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic sui iuris particular church that follows the West Syriac Rite. It is headed by Major Archbishop Baselios Cardinal Cleemis, who is based in Kerala.
In the early 20th century, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church underwent significant developments under the leadership of Geevarghese Ivanios. Born in 1882, Ivanios played a pivotal role in the reunion movement that led to the formation of the Malankara Syrian Catholic Church on 20 September 1930. This event marked the reunification of a faction of the Malankara Church with Rome, solidifying its communion with the Catholic Church.
Today, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church has a strong presence in India, with over 1096 parishes, making it one of the country's largest church evangelical establishments. The church's parishes are spread across various dioceses, including Marthandom, Mavelikara, Muvattupuzha, Neyyattinkara, Parassala, and Pathanamthitta. Additionally, the church has established eparchies in other parts of the world, such as the St. Mary, Queen of Peace Syro-Malankara Catholic Eparchy in the United States and Canada.
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The history of Indian Catholicism
India is officially a secular country, but it is one of the most publicly religious countries in the world. Nearly 80% of the population is Hindu, and Hinduism has had a profound impact on the culture. However, India is also extremely pluralistic, with a vibrant mix of religions.
Christianity is believed to have been introduced to India by Thomas the Apostle, who reached the Malabar Coast in Kerala in AD 52. He preached in both the east and west of India, and his followers became known as Nasrani, a Syriac term meaning 'Follower of the Nazarene Jesus'. This early Christian community was composed of Nestorianism or Eastern Christians, belonging to the Church of the East and using the East Syriac Rite of worship. By the 4th century, the community had come under the jurisdiction of Bishops from Persia, and by the 8th century, it had been organised as the Province of India of the Church of the East, served by bishops and a local dynastic archdeacon.
In the 14th century, the French or Catalan Dominican missionary Jordanus Catalani became the first Catholic European missionary to arrive in India. He landed in Surat around 1320 and was appointed the first Bishop of Quilon in 1329, making it the first Roman Catholic diocese in India. Jordanus reported that he had given Christian burial to four martyred monks, and his writings provided a detailed account of the Indian Christians, as well as the region's products, climate, manners, customs, fauna and flora.
In the late 15th century, Portuguese missionaries introduced the Latin Catholic Church to India. They made contact with the St Thomas Christians in Kerala, who were following Eastern Christian practices at the time. With the discovery of the sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, Western Christianity was established in the European colonies of Goa, Tranquebar, Bombay, Madras and Pondicherry. The Christianisation of Goa by the Portuguese in the 16th century led to Goan Catholics adopting a more Western culture.
Today, the Catholic Church in India is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope. There are over 23 million Catholics in India, making up around 1.57% of the population. The Catholic Church is the largest Christian church in India, and the country has the second-largest Christian population in Asia after the Philippines. The majority of Indian Catholics (78.3%) belong to the Latin Church, with the rest being Syrian Catholic Christians. The Syro-Malabar Church, one of the Eastern Catholic Churches, makes up around 19.7% of Indian Catholics, while the Syro-Malankara Church accounts for approximately 2.0%.
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Frequently asked questions
There are 174 dioceses in India, which are organised into 30 ecclesiastical provinces.
There are over 23 million Catholics in India, making it the third-largest religion in the country. This represents around 1.57% of the total population.
Indian Catholics belong to three rites: the Latin rite, the Syro-Malabar rite, and the Syro-Malankara rite. The Latin rite is the most common, introduced by European missionaries. The Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara rites follow Syriac liturgical traditions.
