St. Joseph's Syro-Malabar Church, Meenkunnam

St. Joseph's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is situated in Meenkunnam village, 6 km from Muvattupuzha, India. It was founded by Venerable Mar Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly in 1921.^[3] The church belongs to the Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Kothamangalam.

St. Joseph's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
St. Joseph's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
St. Joseph's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Meenkunnam
Location	Meenkunnam, Muvattupuzha
Country	India
Denomination	Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
History
Founded	1921
Founder(s)	Mar Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly[1]
Dedication	Saint Joseph
Consecrated	1925
Past bishop(s)	Mar George Punnakkottil
Associated people	Saint Thomas Christians
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Administration
District	Ernakulam
Synod	Syro-Malabar
Diocese	Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Kothamangalam[2]
Clergy
Archbishop	Mar Raphael Thattil
Bishop(s)	Mar George Madathikandathil

History

Founder, Mar Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly

Meenkunnam village has a large population of Syrian Catholics. These Nasrani Christians, who were previously under Marth Mariam Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church, Arakuzha, have more than 1500 years of recorded history.^[4]

A main landmark of Meenkunnam is a copy of Michelangelo's Pietà, which was created by the artist Appukuttan. This sculpture at Meenkunnam is roughly 4 times the size of the original Pietà, located at the St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. Owing to its size, the artist could make a compromise on intricate details and created a sculpture lacking realism, ideal beauty, harmony and balance observed in the original sculpture which showcases a balance of Renaissance ideals of classical beauty with naturalism.