History of Mangalorean Catholics - Pre-migration Era

Pre-migration Era

All records of an early existence of Christians in South Canara were lost at the time of their deportation by Tippu Sultan in 1784. Hence, it is not known when exactly Christianity was introduced in South Canara, although it is possible that Syrian Christians settled in South Canara just as they did in Kerala, a state south of Canara. The Italian traveler Marco Polo recorded that there were considerable trading activities between the Red Sea and the Canara coast in the 13th century. It can be surmised that foreign Christian merchants were visiting the coastal towns of South Canara during that period for commerce and possibly some Christian priests might have accompanied them for evangelistic work. In April 1321, the French Dominican friar Jordanus Catalani of Severac (in south-western France) with four other friars landed at Thana. He then travelled to Bhatkal in North Canara, a port town on the coastal route from Thana to Quilon in 1328. About 1493, a cross was caught in the net by some fishermen off Mangalore. It was made of Olive wood, well finished and one span and a half in length, indicating the possibility of a Christian community in Mangalore. Some crosses painted black and red were discovered by the Portuguese in 1505 while digging up for laying the foundation for a fortress at Anjediva in North Canara. According to Paulo da Trinidade, they appeared to have belonged to a chapel or church of Christians. It is difficult to say whether these findings were Christian crosses or some other objects which looked like crosses and actually were instruments used by Hindus for astronomical observations. According to Historian Severine Silva, no concrete evidence has yet been found that there were any permanent settlements of Christians in South Canara before the 16th century. Even if it is assumed that Christianity existed in South Canara before the arrival of the Portuguese, the Christian community must have disappeared by 1498.

It was only after the advent of the Portuguese in the region that Christianity began to be propagated. In 1498, the Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama landed on a group of islands in South Canara on his voyage from Portugal to India. He named them El Padron de Santa Maria, which later came to be known as St Mary's Islands. In 1500, Pedro Álvares Cabral, a Portuguese explorer, arrived at Anjediva with eight Franciscan missionaries. These missionaries under the leadership of Henrique Soares de Coimbra converted 22 or 23 natives to Christianity in the Mangalore region. On 19 November 1502, some Christians of Mangalore and other interior places went with presents to meet Vasco da Gama, who was in Cochin. These Christian ambassadors told da Gama that they had their bishops and all of them said mass. They also told him that they undertook pilgrimages to the sepulcher of St. Thomas. Even prior to Alfonso de Albuquerque's conquest of Goa in 1510, the Portuguese had some settlements in Canara. It was easy for the Portuguese to send re-inforcements of missionaries to the existing stations in Canara and also to advance the work of evangelization. During the early part of the 16th century, Canara was ruled by Krishnadevaraya (1509–1529), the ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire of Deccan. As it was not possible for the Portuguese to enter Canara with Krishnadevaraya as ruler, a Portuguese alliance with Krishnadevaraya was the only way to enter Canara. Krishnadevaraya granted commercial privileges to the Portuguese on the Canara coast and there was complete freedom of worship, belief and propagation of religious tenets in the Vijaynagara Empire.

In 1526, under the viceroyship of Lopo Vaz de Sampaio, the Portuguese took possession of Mangalore. During the rule of Lopo Vaz de Sampaio, a regular mission was established in Mangalore by some Franciscans who came from Goa, where they had been established in 1517. The Portuguese Franciscans slowly started spreading Christianity in Mangalore. On 31 January 1533, the Diocese of Goa was created by a bull of Pope Clement VII, and confirmed in 1534 by Pope Paul III by his bull Aequum Reputamus dated 3 November 1534. The Franciscan monk, Father John of Albuquerque, became the first Bishop of Goa in 1537. In 1534, Canara was placed under the ecclesiastic jurisdiction of the Bishop of Goa, where the Portuguese had a strong presence. Missionaries soon arrived and gained converts. The number of local converts in South Canara started increasing. During the mid–16th century, the Portuguese faced resistance from Abbakka Rani of Ullal, the Queen of the Bednore dynasty. The first battle between Abbakka Rani and the Portuguese was fought in 1546, where she emerged victorious, and succeeded in driving the Portuguese out of South Canara.