Arthunkal is a small, sleepy fishing village 22 kilometres north of Alleppey and also one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Kerala among both Christians and Hindus. The Arthunkal church was built by the earliest Portuguese missionaries to the area and has a fascinating history attached to it. The church was rebuilt in 1584 under a vicar named Jacoma Fenicio, whom devotees claim, possessed magical powers to heal body and mind. Devotees fondly refer to him as 'Arthunkal Veluthachan' which in English translates as 'the fair skinned father of Arthunkal'. Father Fenicio died in 1632. Eight years after his death, the church was rebuilt again. In 1647 the idol of St.Sebastian, executed on the orders of the Roman emperor for embracing the christian faith, depicting the saint with arrows stuck all over his bleeding body was sculpted in Milan and placed in the church. It is believed that the saint has the power to cure the the maimed and crippled and those with mental disorders. The church is also an example of the early church architecture in Kerala.
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