The Diocese of Quilon, the first diocese in India and the cradle of Indian Christianity is proud to welcome you to this web portal. The vibrant catholic community of Quilon (Kollam) cherishes its unique history of being founded by St. Thomas the Apostle of Jesus, nurtured by the great apostles St. Bartolommeo and St. Francis Xavier and fostered by the saintly martyrs like Archbishop Jordanus Catalani de Severac and Giovanni Marignoli.
Since the latter half of the 12th century, Quilon became the centre of missionary expeditions by Franciscan and Dominican Missionaries. In 1329 Pope John XXII (in captivity in Avignon) erected Quilon as the first Diocese in the whole of Indies as suffragan to the Archdiocese of Sultany in Persia through the Apostolic Bull, “Romanus Pontifex” dated 9th August 1329. By a separate Bull “Venerabili Fratri Jordano”, the same Pope, on August 21, 1329 appointed the French Dominican friar Jordanus Catalani de Severac as the first Bishop of Quilon. (Copies of the Orders and the related letters issued by His Holiness Pope John XXII to Bishop Jordanus Catalani and to the diocese of Quilon are documented and preserved in the diocesan archives).
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