St. Xavier's Cathedral

St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Kottar, also known as St. Xavier Church, is a Roman Catholic Latin Rite shrine in Kottar, Nagercoil, in the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu state, India. While Francis Xavier was doing missionary work in Kottar and its neighbourhood, he averted an invasion of Vadugas with the help of the army of Paravars and Padayatchi nadars of Kottar, at Vadasery, thus protecting the people of the Venad kingdom from that attack which was appreciated by the king, Unni Kerala Varma, who became closer to the priest and befriended him from then on. In recognition of Xavier’s services, the king allotted him a piece of land to construct a Catholic church, as a gesture of goodwill, as per the church records. There was already a small church, in the same place where St. Xavier’s church stands at present, dedicated to Mary the Mother of God, since AD 1544. Church records indicate that St. Xavier Church was built in 1600. In 1865, the Shrine of Mary was renovated and enlarged. In 1930, the church was raised to the status of a cathedral. The annual festival is celebrated during November – December, lasting for 10 days.