Albuquerque who reached Cochin in 1503 defeated the enemies of the King of Cochin and in return he gave them permission to build a fort in Cochin. 1505 – Building the first church In 1505, Dom Francisco de Almeida the first Portuguese Viceroy got permission from the Cochin Raja to build a church edifice using stones and mortar which was unheard of at that time as the local prejudices were against such a structure for any purpose other than a royal palace or a temple. The foundation stone of the Santa Cruz church was laid on May 3, 1505, the feast day of the ‘Invention of the Holy Cross’, hence the magnificent edifice when completed was named Santa Cruz. This church was located on the eastern side of the present Children's Park, Fort Cochin. 1558 – Raising to the status of a cathedral In 1558, Pope Paul IV, raised the Santa Cruz Church to the status of a cathedral along with the foundation of the Cochin diocese as the second diocese in India. Afterwards, when the Dutch conquered Cochin in 1663, they destroyed all catholic buildings. Only the St. Francis Church and the cathedral escaped this fate. The Dutch made the cathedral their arms storehouse. Later it fell into the hands of the British who demolished it when they took over Cochin in 1795. One of the decorative granite pillars of the destroyed cathedral is still kept as a monument at the southeastern corner of the present basilica premises. 1887 – Rebuilding the cathedral About 100 years later, Bishop D. Joao Gomes Ferreira (1887–1897), who reached Cochin, took initiative to erect the present cathedral and commenced the construction, but it was the next bishop, D. Maheus de Oliveira Xavier (1897–1909), who completed the edifice. The cathedral was consecrated on November 19, 1905, by Dom Sebastiao Jose Pereira, Bishop of Damao. 1984 – Raising to basilica Considering the antiquity, artistic dignity and historical significance, Blessed Pope John Paul II, by his Decree Constat Sane Templum Sanctae Cruci of December 19, 1984, raised the Santa Cruz Cathedral to the status of basilica. 2004 – Celebrating the quincentenary Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica is a Roman Catholic place of worship that celebrated five centuries of its existence only very recently in 2004. Rector and parish priest Very Rev Fr Johnson Chiramel Assistant parish priests Rev Fr Chilton George Fernandez Rev Fr Jerin George Ethothara