Tombstones displayed in the Mother of God Church, Kozhikode.
In the courtyard of the Mother of God Roman Catholic Cathedral at Kozhikode are displayed 15 tombstones. The gravestones are mounted near the northern compound wall of the cathedral. All the inscriptions are in English, except for one tombstone which is in French. The headstones are dated from the mid-19th to the early 20th century, the oldest from 1861 and the latest from 1908. Among the deceased are three Septuagenarians, two French infants, an Austrian born German machinist and an Indian Sub Assistant Surgeon. The 16th century Portuguese church has undergone extensive renovation and refurbishment and the current structure after major renovation was rededicated and inaugurated on 2009. Apparently, there was a burial ground in the churchyard or nearby, the exact location unknown. Roberts and Chekkutty (2017) has an inventory for this cemetery with 32 burials reported, the earliest dated to 1857. However, only 27 are recorded with a gravestone and the oldest from 1866. Today, the functional cemetery of the Cathedral is located 3 km North in the West Hill area of Kozhikode.
Mother of God Roman Catholic Cathedral, Kozhikode
Details of the Tombstones
|
No |
Name |
Death |
Age |
|
1 |
Whelelmina Cornelia |
9/1861 |
27y |
|
2 |
Joanna De Souza Rodrigues |
6/1864 |
70y |
|
3a |
Henri Profumo |
4/1866 |
1y + 7m |
|
3b |
Emilie Profumo |
6/1866 |
10m |
|
4 |
Joseph Manuel De'rozario |
6/1881 |
71y |
|
5 |
John Anthony De'rozario |
8/1885 |
71y |
|
6 |
John Schloss |
3/1886 |
45y |
|
7 |
H. J. King |
12/1887 |
NA |
|
8 |
Clarissa Josephina |
6/1890 |
31y +4m + 6d |
|
9 |
Emily Mary |
4/1895 |
18y +10m + 25d |
|
10 |
Ernest Augustus Godfrey |
1/1896 |
66y |
|
11 |
Josephine Clara |
3/1899 |
49y |
|
12 |
Domingo Manuel De'siqueira |
2/1902 |
35y + 8d |
|
13 |
Joseph Victor |
6/1908 |
40y |
|
14 |
Child |
NA |
NA |
|
15 |
D Rajendram Pillai |
9/1895 |
NA |
Interestingly, the first two gravestones (Whelelmina and Joanna), also the oldest in the lot, are not seen in the inventory collected by Roberts and Chekkutty (2017). Along with the photographs uploaded below, I am attaching the full transcripts of the epitaphs.
TOMBSTONES PRESERVED IN THE MOTHER OF GOD CATHEDRAL, KOZHIKODE
