St. Teresa’s Monastery and Church

The Holy Face Shrine blessing and visit of the Superior General of the order 

The opening of the St. Teresa’s Monastery Ernakulum at the beginning of the twentieth century was a path breaking event in the history of Indian Carmel. It was due to the great vision of Msgr. Bernard Arguinzoniz, Archbishop of Verapoly and of the two provincials of Navarra Province, Fr Ezequiel, future Superior General of the Order and Fr.Valentin, future Archbishop of Santiago of Cuba. The seven members of the Navarra province in Spain who left Europe to dedicate themselves to regular Carmelite life in India and   they settled in Ernakulum in 1902. Venerable Fr. John Vincent who was already in India as a missionary and who was enthusiastic about this foundation of the regular life. He was entrusted to build the church and the monastery. The foundation stone of the Church was laid on 27th August 1902 and the church  was solemnly blessed on 18th March in 1905. The venerable Fr. John Vincent of preached the sermon in Malayalam at the inauguration of the Church.  

There was a great solemnity at Kannenkunnath Ernakulam on 18th and 19th of March 1905. Fr . Boniface of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Rector of the Puthenpally Seminary, solemnly blessed the Monastery and Church dedicated to St. Teresa on 18th March. On the following day, the solemnity of St. Joseph, Msgr.Mathew D’Oliviera, Bishop of Cochin, celebrated the general communion Mass and Msgr. Aloysius Benziger, the co-adjutor Bishop of Quilon, celebrated the pontifical solemn Mass. In the afternoon Msgr. Bernard of Jesus, the Archbishop of Verapoly assisted by Msgr. Mathew D’Olviera and Msgr.Benziger led the Eucharistic procession through the garden of the Monastery.   Fr. John Joseph was the first Vicar of the community. All their strenuous efforts and resources were dedicated towards the empowerment of their brethren here. And when in 1940 they left for Spain at the outbreak of World War II, they handed over the Church and Monastery to the native Discalced Carmelites of the Malabar Province.