According to the tradition, St. Thomas, the apostle of Christ, went to India to proclaim the
Gospel of Christ. After St. Thomas some missionaries were sent from occident to continue the
missionary work in orient. But, an organized missionary work is happened only after the
discovery of the sea route to India under Portuguese Padroado. The diocese of Cochin and the
Portuguese Padroado are two important terms in the study of the history of the catholic Church in
India. As the first Portuguese political and religious center and the second diocese in India, the
diocese of Cochin has got an important place in the history of the Church in India.
The missionary work started by the Padroado missionaries at the beginning of 16th century
consists of conversion of the local people to Christianity, creation of the small Christian
communities, construction of churches etc. Jesuits, Franciscans and Dominicans were prominent
in the mission field of Cochin. This dissertation studies the method of missionary work of the
Padroado in the diocese of Cochin, the time of the breve Multa Præclare and the new vision of
the Church on Mission which is explained through two papal documents Maximum Illud and
Rerum Ecclesiæ and how it reflected in the missionary expansion of the diocese of Cochin
