An important Syrian Christian Centre, the town of Mannanam, 8 km from Kottayam, sites the St. Joseph's Monastery, associated with the name of Fr. Kuriakose Elias of Chavara (1805-71), one of the Saintly figures of the Syrian Catholic Church of Kerala.Among renowned institutions here is the St. Joseph's Press.
The church is an important pilgrim center for followers of Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara. The church was commissioned by him on 11 May 1831 and completed in 1837. It was subsequently renovated in 1955 and 1996.In 2014, when Fr. Kuriakose Elias Chavara was canonized as a saint, arpound 60,000 people attended the thanksgiving mass at the church complex which was celebrated by 100 priests.
St. Kuriakose also started the first printing press in Kottayam in the church complex in 1846. The printing press was used to bring out the first Malayalam daily 'Nasrani Deepika', Which later renamed as The 'Deepika'. When St. Kuriakose died in 1871, he was buried at St. Philomina's Church, Koonammavu. His mortal remains were later transferred to the St. Joseph Church in 1889.
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