Church of Our Lady of Hope
Church of Our Lady of Hope is a Latin Church parish in the Diocese of Cochin. It is located at Fort Vypin in the island of Vypeen, the point where the Vembanad Lake merges with the Arabian Sea, with Fort Cochin on the other side.The church, with an area of, occupies the southern end of Vypeen Island. Ministering to Latin Catholics of Malabar, its liturgies are according to the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. The patron of the church is Our Lady of Hope a form in which Virgin mary is venerated as the patron of fishermen and navigators. The emblem of church is an anchor. It is one of the oldest churches in Kochi, built by the Portuguese in 1605 A.D. It is part of the Diocese of Cochin.
Ecce Homo:
The six-foot-tall statue of Ecce Homo, carved on a single piece of rosewood, is a relic that has been preserved in the church for more than 400 years. It is a bruised and beaten embodiment of Jesus Christ, wrapped in a velvet cloak and venerated on the fourth Sunday of Lent. It was given to the church by the captain of a passing Portuguese vessel on its way to Macau.