The Apostolic Vicariate of Trichur together with Apostolic Vicariate of Kottayam was erected on 20th May, 1887 by His Holiness Pope Leo XIII with the epoch-making bull ?Quod Jam Pridem?. When Pope Leo XIII reorganised the two Syro-Malabar Apostolic Vicariates to make new Apostolic Vicariates of Changanacherry and Ernakulam on 28th July, 1896 by the bull ?Quae Rei Sacrae?, the Apostolic Vicariate of Trichur continued. On December 21, 1923 by the bull ?Romani Pontifices? of Pope Pius XI, Trichur was made an eparchy and Mar Francis Vazhappilly, Vicar Apostolic since 1921, became the first Bishop of the Eparchy of Trichur. Pope John Paul II inaugurated the Centenary Celebrations of the Eparchy of Trichur on February 7, 1986 at St. Thomas Nagar, (Sakthan Thamburan Nagar) Thrissur, in the presence of about one million faithful. On May 18, 1995 Pope John Paul II raised the?Eparchy to the Metropolitan status, with the Eparchies of Irinjalakuda and Palghat as its suffragans and Bishop Mar Joseph Kundukulam as its first Metropolitan Archbishop. On 20th May 2011, the 125th Anniversary Celebrations were inaugurated by the Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio.