St. Francis Church was originally named as Santo Antonio. It is the first church to have been built in the new European influenced style and tradition. The original wooden building of 1510 was soon replaced by the present building around 1546. Vasco da Gama died here in 1524 and was originally buried in the church, fourteen years later his body was removed and taken back to Portugal. The church has an impressive facade. Inside, the chancel is separated from the nave by a plain arch. The use of the arch is in sharp contrast to traditional Indian use of flat overlapping slabs or corbelling, a bit like Trinity Church, Bangalore. The church, originally a Catholic Church was taken over by the Dutch after they captured Cochin ( Kochi ) in 1663 and converted it into a Protestant Dutch Reformed Church. The British converted it into an Anglican Church after they took power in 1795 and in 1949 the congregation joined the Church of South India.
