Vimalagiri Cathedral

It was quite an unplanned outing of mine that turned out to be visiting one of the must-seen places in Kottayam, the Vimalagiri Cathedral. And this will be the first one I would like to share in iTravel.

The Vimalagiri Cathedral belonging to the archdiocese of Vijayapuram is at Keezhukunnu, a mount located in the central part of the Kottayam town. Due to its close proximity to the Kottayam Railway Station, Vimalagiri can be an easy destination to pilgrims as well as tourists entering the town.

The foundation stone for the church was laid in 26th of August 1956 by Bishop Ambrose Abasolo OCD and was blessed after an 8 year long construction on 15th of March 1964. The major attraction of the Church is its awe inspiring architectural beauty, being one among the very few churches in Kerala built in true Gothic style with tinge of Spanish designs. Most of the sculptures in the church are imported from Spain including the Mother Mary's.

The church's major attraction consists of two tombs that are visible from the city, from places like the Nehru Stadium. The annual feast in the church that occurs on 8th of December every year, called as feast of Mary Immaculate, is celebrated with great importance and on the same day devotees are given access to the Mother Mary's statue via the stairs at the back. The complete structure is built with chiseled stone and the glass paintings and the coloured window panes add to the beauty of the altar and chapel.

The Church can be reached at a distance of 1.2 kms from Kottayam Railway Station moving up along the Railway road and taking a sharp left to Mother Theresa road and climbing the mount.