Parish Church

One of the ancient centres of Christianity in Kerala, Bharananganam is dominated by its millennium old Forane church. In the year 1004, a church was founded and built at Bharananganam, which still exists as Parelpally. A huge and beautiful church was built here in the early decades of the 20th Century. The clarist convent where St Alphonsa lived and died is only a stone’s throw away from the church; some two hundred meters to the north is the Cemetery Chapel inside which is the Tomb of St Alphonsa now it is known as St Alphonsa Shrine Church & Pilgrim Centre. St Alphonsa made her triple vows in this ancient church.

Bharananganam had been a sleepy backwater of a village till it shot into fame in the 1950’s in the wake of the cult of St. Alphonsa. Perched between the high ranges in the east and the flat coastal strips to the west, it has undulating terrain like every place in Kerala’s midland. It is situated on the bank of the Meenachil River. The soil on either side of the river is remarkably fertile. The majority of the people are educated and Bharananganam is typical small town in Kerala with 100% literacy. The town consists of mainly a single street, about a kilometre long, and is dominated by the towering parish church at the centre.

St Alphonsa shrine church where St alphonsa’s mortal remains lie buried is only 200 meters from the parish church in Bharananganam town. In the year 1004, a church was founded and built at Bharananganam, which still exists as Parelpally. A huge and beautiful church was built here in the early decades of the 20th Century.

Now Bharananganam where her mortal remains were interred has become the Lisieux of India as predicted in her funeral speech by Rev. Fr. Romulus CMI. It is now a celebrated place of pilgrimage where many flock to seek solace both physical and spiritual. Bharananganam has become a spiritual haven in the Church, a beacon of hope for the heart broken and a sanctuary for the children of God.

Bharananganam is a small town located in the central part of the state of Kerala, in India. . Bharananganam can be accessed by road from all directions. It is 33 kilometers from Kottayam, the district headquarters of Bharananganam and the nearest railway station. The Nedumbassery international airport is only 90 kilometres from here. The Trivandrum international airport is 190 kilometres to the south.